U.S. Says Russia Seeks Deal on Missile Defense

Russia has offered to work with the United States to restrain North Korea’s missile program if the Clinton administration abandons its proposal to amend the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to permit construction of a limited national missile defense system, a senior U.S. official said Friday.

“They are saying, let’s deal diplomatically or cooperate on a theater missile defense and shoot down [North Korean] missiles that way,” the official said, describing the offer that Russian Foreign Minister Igor S. Ivanov presented to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright during three days of talks here.

While agreeing to review Ivanov’s suggestion, the official said, the Clinton administration still intends to seek alterations to the 1972 ABM treaty at a June 4-5 summit in Moscow.

The Russian counterproposal is geared toward eliminating the threat posed by medium-range North Korean missiles to the Asian region and fails to deal with the potential threat to the United States posed by North Korea’s efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, the official said.

Russia has steadfastly objected to amending the ABM treaty, which it views as a cornerstone of nuclear arms control. The treaty prohibits national missile defenses, ensuring that each side could destroy the other and, in theory, deterring either side from launching a first strike.