NATO agrees to build missile defence shield

LISBON: NATO leaders agreed on Friday to develop a missile defence shield linking systems in the United States and Europe to protect member states against long-range attacks from regions.


U.S. officials said the protective umbrella, which will be deployed in stages from next year until 2020, would be capable of intercepting long-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

U.S. interceptor missiles and radar will be stationed in Europe under a plan which NATO officials say will require the 28 NATO states to invest 200 million euros ($280 million) to link existing anti-missile systems to the U.S. system.

"It offers a role for all of our allies. It responds to the threats of our times," U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters at a NATO summit in Lisbon.

The leaders will invite Moscow, NATO's former Cold War enemy, to join the system when they meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Lisbon on Saturday.

NATO hopes to ease Russia's concerns about what the system aims to do, and involve the Kremlin at some level without compromising the years of work that have already been done on preparing a missile defence system.