Less and less time left for agreement with US on MD - Medvedev

HAVANA, February 23 (Itar-Tass) - Less and less time is left to come to an agreement with the United States on the missile defence problem, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview to Cuban media.

"Despite all our attempts to explain to Americans that we consider the European missile defence in the kind it is proposed -- as in essence aimed against the RF and its nuclear potential, nevertheless, our arguments are not heeded both on the American level and in the format of the North Atlantic alliance," the premier said.

They try to relieve Russia's anxiety, but the statements do not seem convincing to Moscow. "We presented all our arguments, but the situation has not changed. Alas, less and less time is left with each passing month for an agreement," the premier noted.

According to Medvedev, the horizon to take such a decision ends earlier than late this decade. "If we cannot agree, consequences for international relations may be rather unpleasant, as we will have to take response measures, and it will be any Russian government, any Russian leader to have to take the response measures, just since such are our strategic interests," he said.

At the same time, the Russian prime minister noted "It must be admitted that on the whole in recent years our relations developed rather well, as we managed to prepare and sign very important documents, and the American colleagues promoted our accession to the WTO." "It is comfortable enough for me, and I am sure for my colleague Vladimir Putin, to communicate with the U.S. administration. But there are themes on which our positions differ very seriously," he said.

One more complicating factor is "the Magnitsky law". "We had to take response measures, including the law on responsibility of persons who violate human rights and interests of Russian citizens. Is this a good way? It is bad. And the fewer there are such reasons, the better -- for Russian-American relations and for international relations on the whole," the Russian premier noted.