Official Says Putin Visit Could Bring Missile Agreement
President Vladimir V. Putin’s visit to the United States next month could produce a landmark deal on American missile defense plans and on reducing nuclear arsenals, the U.S. ambassador to Russia said Friday.
Last weekend’s meeting between President Bush and Putin in Shanghai “opened the way for a possible agreement, perhaps even as early as Putin’s visit to the United States, on . . . issues relating to strategic offensive and defensive arms,” Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said during an online news conference.
He did not give details on what type of agreement could be reached. However, the statement follows the Pentagon’s announcement Thursday that it is delaying three missile-tracking tests because they might violate the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty.
The delays marked the first time Washington has allowed concerns about the treaty to slow its missile defense project.
Moscow opposes the defense plan, and the test delay was seen as a gesture to the Russians that would give Bush room to maneuver during Putin’s visit on Nov. 13-15.
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