October 8, 2007 (LPAC)--Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, compared Russian President Vladimir Putin's missile defense proposal to President Reagan's SDI and urged the Bush Administration to move forward on it at the Defense and Foreign Ministers meeting at the end of this week in Moscow. "President Putin's proposal is not a new concept," Lugar said, speaking today at the Brookings Institution. "In fact, it is surprisingly similar to the strategic vision that President Ronald Reagan laid out more than two decades ago. I am pleased that the Administration is seriously studying Putin's offer on missile defense. While the utilization of former Soviet radar stations may or may not assist in tracking missiles fired from rogue states, sharing information gathered by U.S .and NATO systems to Russia, and possibly linking radar and early warning systems, would be useful in ensuring transparency and reaffirming our cooperative approach."

"The U.S. and Russia should also consider the establishment of jointly manned radar facilities and exchanges of early-warning data," Lugar continued. "They might also consider joint threat assessments as well as undertake bilateral discussions on options for missile defense cooperation. Lastly, we might consider placing Russian liaison officers at U.S. missile defense tracking sites in exchange for U.S. officers in Russian strategic command centers. The transparency gained from such steps would be useful in offering reassurances that these radars are not meant for spying on Russia." This latter proposal is being mooted by those who would like to see a Russian-U.S. agreement, but are not willing to renege on the previous proposals regarding missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, something the Russians continue to indicate, would be deal- breakers.

Lugar also called for maintaining a legal treaty framework for previous disarmament proposals like the START treaty, since not doing so could undermine the cooperation and verification that previously had been in place. The START treaty runs out in 2009 and the Bush Administration has not wanted to sign any legally binding agreement as a follow-up. Lugar also called on the U.S. to conclude the 1-2-3 nuclear agreement with Russia, and urged continued funding of the Nunn-Lugar program forplacing nuclear materials in safe storage.