NATO to Declare Missile Shield without Putin

NATO will announce the completion of the first stage of a controversial missile defense shield at a May summit that will not include Russian leader Vladimir Putin, its chief said Monday.

NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the Western military bloc intended to announce the deployment of the first "interim" phase of a missile defense shield for Europe at the summit in Chicago.

The US-backed system has been bitterly opposed by Russia and has remained one of the main stumbling blocks in Moscow's recent relations with Washington.

"I can confirm that it is our intention to declare what we call an interim capability of the NATO system. That is part of the first phase of the development of the NATO missile defense system," Rasmussen said in a video conference with Moscow reporters.

However he confirmed that Putin is expected to miss the May 20-21 meeting when he pays his first visit to the United States since his March 4 election to a third term as president.

Rasmussen said he and Putin had agreed by telephone that their summit was unlikely to go ahead in Chicago "due to the very busy domestic schedule in Russia."

He stressed that he was still planning to meet Putin soon after his May 7 Kremlin inauguration. Putin is still scheduled to visit the United States in May for the G8 summit in Camp David.

"The relationship between NATO and Russia is not dependent on a single meeting in Chicago or elsewhere," commented Rasmussen.

Yet Rasmussen also poured scorn on Russia's plans to unleash a massive nuclear warhead and missile development program that is a part of Putin's 23-trillion-ruble ($793-billion) military spending plan through 2020.

"I can honestly say ... that would be a complete waste of money," he said.

Washington and NATO argue that the missile shield is meant to protect Western nations against missile attacks from potential future nuclear powers such as North Korea and Iran.

Moscow fears the shield could make its own nuclear capabilities less effective and has sought to build a joint system in which it has an equal say.

NATO has dismissed the idea and sought to assure Russia that its nuclear deterrence would remain unaffected.