"In case the that European partners do become interested in Russia's idea and in the case of a credible missile threat" to the region, Moscow will propose "not to create non-strategic land-based ballistic missile defense systems tied to this or that region," diplomatic sources in Moscow told Interfax on Friday. Such stationing of non-strategic ballistic missile defense systems "would clearly show against whom it is targeted."

In such a scenario, Moscow would suggest having "a so-called rapid missile reaction force, which in the case of danger could be moved and deployed to regions" that could be exposed to a missile threat, the sources said.

The sources stressed that the idea Moscow is offering "will be no means lead" to any even modest modification of the 1972 ABM [anti- ballistic missile] Treaty, which itself does not ban the creation of non-strategic ballistic missile defense systems.

For starters, the European ballistic missile defense system could be based on "dual-purpose means, in particular, anti-aircraft missile systems, which, apart from their main functions, could intercept non- strategic ballistic missiles," the sources said. In the future, the European anti-ballistic "special police" could be equipped with such "specialized anti-ballistic missile means," experts say.

At the same time, the sources said, these plans could be carried out "only at the final stage of negotiations on the expediency of deploying military facilities" within the non-strategic anti-ballistic missile system in Europe.

The sources said that Moscow "continues to proceed from that fact that the strategic situation in the world has not yet changed so seriously as to justify the choice of only a military means" of opposing the possible threat of missile and rocket technology proliferation.

Moscow "does not share the United States' evaluation of missile threat that Washington uses as arguments for deploying a national NMD [national missile defense] system," the sources said. Moscow maintains that "the political-diplomatic and economic measures" of neutralizing possible threats can at the moment be very effective, the sources said.

Russia "is prepared to discuss with the U.S. the reasons Washington gives as grounds for deploying a national ABM system," the sources pointed out.

"It is now difficult to speak about any serious reaction in the world" to Russia's proposal to create a non-strategic European ABM system, the sources said. But "no quick answer is required, expert evaluation and many other things are needed, and Moscow therefore had not expected a prompt reaction to this initiative" from the European countries, Interfax was told.

Moreover, Moscow "is making it clear to its European partners that the creation of anti-ballistic 'special police' in any case should be preceded by at least two stages," the sources said.

Moscow suggests that at the first stage all interested European countries should "sit down to the negotiating table and determine whether there is any real threat to these countries, and if there is, than how great it is, what its dynamics are, and so on," they said.

All interested countries should then work out "a joint plan of action" and only then, at the final stage, "could there be talk about practical implementation of Russia's initiative."

Copyright 2001 Interfax. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by Interfax and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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