By KUNA
Brussels : NATO leaders will hold a discussion at their Bucharest summit next month on their approach to a proposed missile defense shield for the 26 NATO states.
“It is a very important summit on this topic,” NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Defense Investment Division, Peter Flory, told a news conference here Wednesday afternoon but added that no decision is expected.
“I don’t think we are going to see a decision there. I don’t see any nation pushing for a decision on an actual procurement program,” he said.
Flory said the main pillar of the NATO’s territorial missile defense system is the Missile Defense Feasibility Study (MDFS) which was completed in 2006.
“Its key finding was that, yes, it is something that can be done,” said the NATO official, noting that it does not include the proposed US third sites.
The US is planning to place its own missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic against what Washington claims are threats from Iran and North Korea.
“So we are looking at what might be possible options for NATO missile defense. How might it connect with the US system and all relevant questions on how much this would cost? How effective would it be?” Flory estimated that the cost of the missile system would be around 20 billion dollars over a 20 year period.
Russia is strongly opposed to the NATO missile shield, but Moscow has no veto over NATO decisions.
The NATO summit will be held in Bucharest, Romania, April 2-4.