December 7, 2007 (LPAC)--The U.S. visit of Russian Chief of the General Staff, Yuri Baluyevsky, was not successful in breaking a deadlock in the missile defense talks between the two parties, a Russian diplomatic source told EIR today. The U.S. is still intent on continuing with the deployments in Poland and the Czech Republic. 

The talks, however, will continue, with "expert-level'' talks scheduled for this Thursday in Budapest. In related moves, Russia is also scheduled to beginning implementing their withdrawal from the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty on December 12, after which date they will no longer issue reports regarding the number of troops they have deployed on their borders with Europe, a measure that has caused some concern among the Europeans. The Russian Navy has also begun deployments into the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic. An agreement on cooperation was signed, however, between the two militaries regarding compatibility and cooperation in 2008.