Germany's Foreign Minister said that aU.S. plan to build a missile defense system in Europe was not damaging relations with the United States, as both countries sought to play down their differences, according to AP. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the system should have a stabilizing effect in Europe as the U.S. continued consultations with European allies and Russia, which has strenuously objected to the plans. She said the U.S. has expressed its willingness to cooperate with Russia on the missile defense system, but did not elaborate. Standing next to Rice, Steinmeier, who has previously backed Russia's claims that they were not properly consulted on the plan, said he believed that the U.S. understands the German call for open discussions. «It is not a disruption of American German relations, none whatsoever,» he said through a translator in a press conference following a meeting with Rice, also attended by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
