Romania To Propose U.S. Bilateral Solution For Anti-Missile Shield

Romania will plead for a NATO anti-missile shield, complementary to that of the U.S., which doesn’t cover all countries in the Alliance, Romanian President Traian Basescu told he public television network TVR Monday.

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Basescu said Romania will argue for the NATO summit conclusions to include provisions that states not covered by the U.S. shield should benefit from a complementary system. He added he would talk to U.S. president George W. Bush to find a bilateral solution in this respect.

Basescu said NATO analysts and experts believe there is the risk of ballistic missiles being launched from countries outside NATO or Russia.

Asked whether such a threat is posed by Iran, Basescu said that is one example, “but not only; other countries, besides Iran, have developed such capabilities”.

"The current reality is that 80% of NATO states are protected by the U.S. shield. However, Romania, Bulgaria, part of Turkey and southern Italy are not protected from missile attacks. Under these circumstances, we shall apply the Alliance’s principle that states security is not dividable," Basescu said.

He added Romania will propose and argue for the final NATO summit document to include “a statement that all countries not protected by the U.S. anti-missile shield would benefit from a NATO system complementary to the American one".

The Romanian head of state said he would talk to Bush about a potential bilateral solution in this respect if NATO doesn’t come up with a complementary shield solution.

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