Russia has announced that it would be willing to "to sit down at the negotiating table for consultations with NATO and the United States," regarding missile defense, the Associated Press reported on June 29th. Moscow is willing to both "assess the world situation" and is "ready to discuss missile threats," according to a top Russian general quoted in the report. Despite these concessions, however, the general said that Moscow would insist that the U.S. not scrap the ABM Treaty. "If the United States begins deployment of an anti-missile system, Russia will announce that Washington has de facto abrogated the ABM treaty," the general warned.

A group of Russian experts are to arrive in Brussels next week for consultations on Moscow's initiative for a European non-strategic missile defense system, NATO's Secretary-General George Robertson told a news conference in Salzburg on July 2nd. According to Robertson, NATO and Russia are discussing a wide range of issues to deepen cooperation, the July 3rd Pravda reported. Robertson emphasised that such a discussion is being carried out "not only at a theoretical level, but also at a practical one." NATO, according to the Secretary General, seeks to deepen "cooperation with Russia in those spheres in which it exists, expanding it as much as possible." The two have for years held different views on a number of pressing security issues, and this development marks an effort to narrow the gap between Russia and the Atlantic alliance on one of the most critical of Moscow's concerns.

Australia's retiring Defence Minister has publicly articulated his support for American missile defense efforts, The Australian reports (June 30). Peter Reith, in a speech on U.S.-Australian defense cooperation at Sydney University, renewed his government's support for President George W. Bush's initiative as beneficial to Australian interests.. According to Reith, "Any U.S. missile defence system would contain technologies with generic applications that we are keen to pursue as we address (Australian Defence Force) priorities in non-ballistic missile defence areas."

French President Jacques Chirac's trip to Moscow featureds high-level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on issues such as the Milosevic trial in The Hague, the Chechnya War, and missile defense, Le Figaro reported on July 3rd. While the two leaders very often did not find common ground, both did agree on the necessity of avoiding nuclear proliferation, especially as a reaction to the missile defense shield planned by the Bush administration. In a further indication of Moscow's changing stance on missile defense, Putin admitted to Chirac that changes could be made to the 1972 ABM treaty.

The United States and Japan will continue to discuss missile defense, papering over differences for now and pledging to look for new approaches where the issue divides them, according to the July 1st Associated Press. Following consultations on missile defense in Washington, President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a joint statement which "reiterated Japan's understanding regarding the president's call for exploring a new approach to transforming deterrence," and stressed both countries' agreement on "the importance of cooperative research on ballistic missile defense technologies."