BERLIN, March 26 (UPI) -- German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung has defended the controversial U.S. plan for a missile shield in Eastern Europe.
In an interview with German business daily Handelsblatt published Monday, Jung, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, said the purpose of the U.S. missile shield in the Czech Republic and Poland was to protect NATO territory.
"At a 2002 NATO summit in Prague, it was decided to conduct a feasibility study for an anti-missile system," Jung told the newspaper. "If a threat didn't exist, we wouldn't be talking about it."
Several countries in Europe oppose the U.S. anti-missile system, which foresees 10 bunker-protected rockets to be stationed in Poland and a radar unit in the Czech Republic by 2011-12. Washington claims the system is aimed at defending the United States and its allies in Europe against nuclear attacks from rogue states, such as Iran and North Korea. Russia, however, sees the American missiles as threats against its territory, an allegation Jung refuted.
The rockets "are not aimed at Russia," Jung said, adding the system should be discussed with Moscow in a NATO framework.
Several members from Merkel's partners in the so-called grand coalition government have also criticized the system for sparking diplomatic tensions in Europe. But Jung assured that Berlin would stand behind the U.S. plans.
"I acknowledge the various statements, but I represent the position of the government. I assure you that in the Cabinet, we are united," Jung said.
