MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax-AVN) - The remaining missile defense disagreements between Washington and Moscow do not damage general bilateral relations, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow said at a press conference at the Interfax main office on Monday.
He said he regretted that the Russian-American summit had failed to result in common approaches to the 1972 ABM Treaty. Yet such debates were rather useful and helped to define the positions of the sides more clearly, he noted.
The United States has not altered its decision about developing and deploying a national missile defense system for fighting challenges from rogue countries, the ambassador said. Some of the tests the United States will make will exceed the limits of the ABM Treaty, he noted.
The United States plans to continue working on common approaches to missile defense issues together with its Russian friends, Vershbow said. But he failed to say what agreements the United States and Russia could reach in that sphere.