Russian military chief visits US

Russia's military chief, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, Tuesday began a three-day official visit to the US to discuss the American missile defence plans, the Russian defence ministry said. Makarov, chief of the Russian armed forces general staff, will hold talks with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, a ministry spokesman said. "The talks will focus on the discussion of the US missile defence plans," he added. Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said Makarov would "make yet another attempt to explain (Russia's) stance on missile defence at least at a chief of staff level". He warned that Russia would not ignore the deployment of the elements of the US missile defence in Europe and would respond adequately to any threats to its security.