US, Russia can reach 'common view' on missile defence: Lavrov

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Updated: 2009-03-07 09:41

GENEVA – Russia and the United States can reach a "common view" on missile defence, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday after meeting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"I think we can arrive at a common view, both in the context of strategic offensive weapons and missile defence," said Lavrov.

Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) smiles to the photographers while pressing a red knob with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a bilateral meeting in Geneva March 6, 2009. [Agencies]

Newly-elected US President Barack Obama has ordered a review of planned extensions of the US anti-missile shield into Europe, a project which has angered Russia.

But he wants Moscow to help deal with any missile threat from Iran.

The New York Times recently reported that Obama had suggested a trade-off to Russian President Dimitry Medvedev in which he would back off deployment of the missile shield, in return for Russian help on Iran.

Washington maintains that such help would minimise the need for the missile shield, which would have interceptors and a radar based in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Clinton said they had discussed "Iran" at length and the United States was ready to welcome Russian ideas and advice.

But she signalled that Washington wanted to continue economic sanctions against Tehran even though it has not finalised its policy on Iran.

"Along with any new approaches are ones that we think are important to continue, namely sanctions both unilateral and multilateral."

She emphasised that the Obama administration was still reviewing the "potential steps" needed to "try to dissuade or prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons" and end Iranian "support of terrorism."

"We are not yet ready to discuss options that we are going to adopt," Clinton said.

Lavrov welcomed the opportunity to discuss Iran further.

"We very much appreciate that the Obama administration in the course of its review is prepared to listen to other opinions, including Russia's," he told journalists.