[Infowarrior] - NATO To Offer Russia Access To US Satellite Data

[Richard Forno]

http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/international/nato-to-offer-russia-access-to-us-satellite-data-20101112-ncx

NATO To Offer Russia Access To US Satellite Data

Updated: Friday, 12 Nov 2010, 8:14 AM EST
Published : Friday, 12 Nov 2010, 8:14 AM EST

AFP - NATO will offer Russia access to some US military satellite data in exchange for its participation in a missile shield project for continental Europe, a Moscow newspaper reported Friday.

The offer will come as part of a broader deal to be extended to Russia at the NATO-Russia Council that immediately follows the 28-member Alliance's Nov. 19-20 summit in Lisbon, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper quoted a NATO source as saying.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accepted an invitation to attend the talks, which will also focus on NATO's activities in Afghanistan, in which Russia is also taking part.

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has invited Russia to join the proposed missile shield, at the same time stressing that "we do not want to impose a specific missile defense architecture on Russia."

Medvedev has cautiously welcomed the deal but said Russia would like to see more details.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta cited a NATO source as saying that the deal involves a proposal to share information about missile and other threats.

It would also grant Russia access to some US satellite intelligence imagery, including about countries such as North Korea.

"By joining the NATO system ... Moscow could strengthen the territorial security of Russia by receiving 'certain information' from US satellites -- for example, images of the DPRK [North Korea]," the newspaper wrote, citing its NATO source.

Russia would also be offered broader political consultations that give Moscow a chance to voice any potential concerns about the shield, and invited to joint NATO exercises and training sessions, the report said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia was open to cooperation with NATO on missile defense, but added that the partnership must be on equal terms.

"We proceed from the fact that if it's equal cooperation ... then such cooperation is quite possible. Strategic partnership should be built on an equal basis," he said.

Copyright 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.