Russia and Europe should create a joint anti-ballistic missile system that offers protection from medium-range and tactical missiles while cooperating with NATO and the United States.

This point of view was expressed by Yabloko's leader Grigory Yavlinsky in an interview (published on February 10, 2001) in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine.

He also said that a categorical disagreement with the US plans to create a national AMB system is only one of two approaches of Russia's leadership. In the end a more flexible variant may be found, noted Yavlinsky.

He also proposed discussion of the ABM problem at multilateral negotiations "4+1" involving Russia. the US, France, the UK and China, justifying this move by the fact that potential changes to the 1972 treaty would affect the interests of all the nuclear powers.

Asked to assess the activity of Vladimir Putin as President of Russia,Yavlinsky noted that this was not an easy task. He mentioned as a strength of the President his readiness to engage in dialogue with all the political forces. Yabloko's leader thinks that this is unusual compared to the former leaders of the Kremlin. But the policies of the President are contradictory, owing to the lack of "clear decisions".

Yavlinsky also expressed his concern over the “course towards the creation of a police state in Russia". But he added that this course "is not the whole of Putin yet".

Based on Interfax reports.

See also:

If Grigory Yavlinsky were president...

Grigory Yavlinsky advocates the creation of a joint Russian-European ABM system