MOSCOW. Aug 16 (Interfax) - Moscow's NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin has said that he hopes that his upcoming negotiations on missile defense issues in Paris and Rome will be successful.
"The Russian Federation hopes that these negotiations will help it persuade Western partners that a European missile defense shield can be created only if the Russian side participates in it on an equal basis," Rogozin told Interfax on Tuesday.
Russia's consultations with NATO and the United States on a European missile defense system were adjourned for August, he said.
"The talks will be resumed at the beginning of September. On September 14, I will arrive in Paris, where I hope to have a detailed conversation with Defense Minister Gerard Longuet," the Russian envoy said.
A meeting at the Elysee Palace is expected to take place during this visit, Rogozin said.
Bilateral talks will then continue in other European capitals, including Rome, Rogozin said, adding that he planned to meet with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
"For the Russian negotiators, a certain decisive stage will be in October, when the defense ministers of NATO countries are expected to meet in Brussels, where they plan to confirm a structure of NATO's missile defense command system," he said.