According to the U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, cooperation in the area of missile defense still remains a viable possibility on the Russian-American agenda.

When questioned as to the reason for the White House’s refusal to change the plans for the deployment of a missile defense shield in Europe following Iran’s announcement that it would eliminate its nuclear program, Ambassador McFaul indicated that the U.S. Administration was still in the process of assessing the likelihood of the threat.

Because there still were no concrete commitments on the part of the Iranians, the United States could not yet conclude that the threat was gone.

At the same time, the American Ambassador voiced confidence that Russia and the United States would be able to work out a long-range agreement on missile defense. The diplomatic envoy emphasized that he believed missile defense to be an area presenting significant cooperation prospects due to the similarity of the tasks confronting the Russians and the Americans.

According to Ambassador McFaul, the United States has neither the intention nor the capability of deploying a missile defense shield targeting Russia. The Ambassador acknowledged that the United States has so far not been able to reach substantial results in its dialogue with Russia on the subject of missile defense. Nevertheless, the diplomatic official was optimistic about continued efforts surrounding the missile shield issue.