16 Jul 2012 13:30

European missile defense system will be built within 8-10 years - Rasmussen

BRUSSELS. July 16 (Interfax) - NATO's European missile defense system will be built within eight to ten years and its partners are still welcome to take part in the project, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.

At the NATO summit in Chicago the allies approved the first step towards development of the NATO missile defense system that we call an "interim capability," Rasmussen told Interfax.

We have just begun this process, and this system will be created over the next eight to ten years so as to protect the entire population in NATO's European countries, he said.

We are ready to invite third countries to take part in this project if they wish to, the NATO chief said, when asked whether Ukraine could take part in the project.