DATE=6/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=US - RUSSIA ANTI-MISSILE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263105
BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE
DATELINE=BERLIN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:   Clinton administration officials are 
cautiously welcoming comments by Russian President 
Vladimir Putin about joint cooperation aimed at 
reducing the global missile nuclear threat.  The issue 
will be high on the agenda when President Clinton 
makes a three-day visit to Moscow beginning Saturday.  
Correspondent Deborah Tate reports from Berlin, where 
the President is currently traveling.



Text:  In an interview with American television 
earlier this week, Mr. Putin proposed ways to further 
cooperate with the United States on reducing the 
threat of missile attack by what Washington calls  
`rogue states' - such as Iran or North Korea.

A U-S official speaking on condition of anonymity told 
VOA in Berlin that while the Russian leader's 
proposals were, for the most part, not well-defined, 
as he put it, they had many positive elements.  He 
says Washington is seeking Moscow's cooperation on the 
issue.

The United States wants to amend the 1972 Anti-
Ballistic Missile treaty to allow for deployment of a 
limited missile defense system to protect against such 
attack.  But Russia opposed the plan - fearing it 
would undermine decades of arms control efforts.

In one part of the interview, Mr. Putin appeared to 
propose sharing technology with the United States and 
other countries to create one missile defense.  

But the U-S official who spoke to VOA says Mr. Putin 
was actually talking in much broader terms about 
cooperation - particularly in political and diplomatic 
terms - to reduce the global missile threat.  He says 
the precise meaning of his comments may have been lost 
in translation.

In the interview, Mr. Putin also proposed an anti-
missile system that would shoot down missiles moments 
after they are launched, rather than in mid-course as 
proposed by the United States. The U-S official says 
the United States does not yet have such technology, 
and says he does not believe Russia does either.  He 
says such technology would not be available before the 
first phase of a U-S plan for an anti-missile shield, 
which is expected by 2005.  (Signed)



NEB/DAT/PT











02-Jun-2000 18:50 PM EDT (02-Jun-2000 2250 UTC)
NNNN

Source: Voice of America
.