NATO fails to embrace U.S. missile plan

NATO ministers at the opening session of the North Atlantic council meeting in Budapest, Hungary

May 29, 2001
Web posted at: 5:11 PM EDT (2111 GMT)

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (CNN) -- NATO's top policy-making body stopped far short Tuesday of endorsing U.S. President George W. Bush's National Missile Defense program, but the organization's secretary-general said "common ground" exists for further discussions.

The North Atlantic Council, meeting in Budapest, Hungary, offered to "continue substantive consultations" with the White House about Bush's $60 billion plan.

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U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell traveled to Budapest for the meeting, hoping to persuade skeptical allies to support the National Missile Defense plan. But sources close to the process said that France and Germany resisted language, sought by Powell, that would portray the possibility of a missile attack as a threat faced by all allies.

Instead, the allies cited only a "potential threat" of attack by nations that have developed nuclear weapons.

NATO Secretary-General George Robertson told reporters after the meeting that "missile defense is not a new subject for the ministers of the alliance," but Bush's plans represent "a whole new area of thinking."

"Powell did not come with any set of proposals" for NATO ministers to reject or accept, he said. "He did as President Bush promised to me ... to emphasize that the U.S. wishes to share their thinking on missile defense before any decision is taken," he said. "This promise was warmly welcomed by all allies."

Robertson said the NATO ministers were pleased with Bush's "commitment to the protection of the allies" and his "desire ... to have huge reductions in nuclear arsenals on both sides of the equation."

Robertson also noted Russian President Vladimir Putin's call last year for a theater-based missile defense system in Europe, saying that such ideas boded well for the future of allied defense.

"There is common ground," he said.

The council, made up of foreign ministers from the 19 NATO nations, said in a statement that the allies "welcome the consultations initiated by President Bush on the U.S. strategic review, including missile defense."

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said it was important that no decisions be made on the missile defense issue until further consultations have occurred.

A U.S. missile defense plan "must add to our security and stability. It must not lead to another arms race," Fischer said.

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