MOSCOW. Jan 27 (Interfax) - If Russia and the United States fail to reach an agreement on missile defense by May, the Russia-NATO summit in Chicago will be in question, Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
"The missile defense issue will of course be a priority, there is no doubt about this and this is out of question. If we fail to move forward in a positive direction on the missile defense issue with the U.S. and NATO, there I think will be less opportunities for holding the NATO-Russian Council summit," Ryabkov said on the air of the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Thursday evening.
At the same time, the missile defense issue is not the only topic on the Russian-U.S. bilateral agenda, he said, adding that Afghanistan, anti-piracy effort and other issues are on the agenda as well.
"I do not know what decision the political leadership will make and whether the positive element of the agenda will be enough given the absence of progress on missile defense to make a decision to hold the summit," Ryabkov said.