Clinton: U.S. anti-missile shield in East Europe might be unnecessary if Iran changes policies

Source: Xinhua | 02-11-2009 08:01

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday said that the planned U.S. anti-missile shield in East Europe might not be necessary if Iran changes its nuclear policies.

"If we are able to see a change in behavior on the part of the Iranians with respect to what we believe to be their pursuit of nuclear weapons ... then ... we will reconsider where we stand," Clinton said at a news conference with visiting Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg.

"But we are a long, long way from seeing such evidence of any behavior change," Clinton said, stressing the deterrent effect from a missile shield.

"We expect any system that we deploy to be able to operate effectively," she said, referring to former U.S. President George W. Bush's plans to deploy missile interceptors in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic to guard against alleged Iran's missile threat.

Clinton said that deployment of missile shield system might not be necessary if Iran changes its policies. "This is one of those issues that really will rest with the decisions made by the Iranian government," she said.

The Bush administration signed agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic to deploy parts of the U.S. global missile shield in the two East European countries.

Russia strongly objects to American anti-missile shield plan, warning it will deploy a short-range missile system in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad bordering Poland.

Before Obama's inauguration, several rounds of talks between senior officials from Washington and Moscow on the missile shield have failed to reach a deal.

The United States has long accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program. Iran rejects the U.S. charges, saying its nuclear program is a peaceful drive to generate electricity so it can export more oil and gas.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei