The creation by NATO of a proposed missile defence shield over Europe would lead to a "qualitatively new military- political situation," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Wednesday in Moscow, according to DPA. Speaking on the eve of NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's visit to Moscow, Grushko also said Georgia's entry into NATO would worsen frayed ties between Moscow and Tbilisi and that Russia would not tolerate an unsigned treaty on troops in Europe. Grushko said he would demand to learn from Scheffer the purpose of such a shield - which would be part of the United States' so-called Global Missile Defence system - would be, and how it affect existing Russian-NATO plans to establish a missile-defence system. "We'll carefully follow discussions of US-NATO projects and keep abreast of announcements of how they are not directed against Russia," the deputy foreign minister said, news agency Interfax reported. Grushko also said that any NATO expansion - including into Georgia - would bring about a "fundamental change in the sphere of security."
