IN MOSCOW'S OPINION, EUROPE IS NOT THREATENED BY "ROGUE STATES"








MOSCOW, March 12, RIA Novosti - As he spoke to a press conference Monday, Leonid Ivashov, chief of the international military cooperation department at the Ministry of Defense, said that in Moscow's opinion, Europe as of yet faces no threat from the so-called "rogue states".


	He said the "rogue states" issue is now being deliberately whipped up by the United States. Ivashov indicated that "countries listed by the United States among those posing a missile threat possess less advanced missile technologies or do not possess them at all". Nevertheless, he indicated that such threats might emerge in the future, but from states not on the US black list.


	In addition to that, Ivashov said that "everything is not well even within NATO". Some of the North Atlantic alliance's member states regard their bloc partners as adversaries, with part of the NATO members holding missile technologies, he noted.


	Ivashov indicated that countries of the Middle East seek to develop cooperation with other states, including European ones, in the political and economic areas as well as in fighting terrorism.


	Ivashov said it was of primary importance to establish the motives of the "rogue states" and other countries seeking to possess missile technologies. According to him, that was the reason for Russia to put forward proposals to create a European non-strategic missile defense system. In Ivashov's opinion, such problems should be solved mainly through the system of political and legal obligations between the countries.


	Ivashov emphasised that "nobody needs militarization of Europe, everybody needs stability, confidence, and cooperation, first of all in the security sphere."