Russia, US can’t agree on missile defense yet

Russia and the United States cannot yet agree on missile defense, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. On Thursday, Lavrov met with his American counterpart Hillary Clinton in Washington, where a meeting of G8 foreign ministers was held. “No agreement on missile defense is taking shape between Russia and the United States,” Lavrov told journalists, adding that “experts should continue working.” The US-led NATO alliance and Russia agreed in 2010 to cooperate on building missile defenses in Europe. Russia has however demanded legally-binding, written guarantees that the project would not undermine Russian security, something Washington has declined to provide. “We will push for our position to be taken into account in full,” the Russian foreign minister said. Lavrov also said the United States would like to host a US-Russia summit after President-elect Vladimir Putin is sworn in in May. He said Clinton would visit Russia in late June.