Russians resist US charm offensive

Rumsfeld has faced resistance to US defence shield plans

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has failed to make the case for an American missile defence shield, said his Russian counterpart, Sergei Ivanov, after talks in Moscow.

Mr Ivanov said the two men had made an "energetic" start to their talks on the issue, but he had not been persuaded of the need for the project.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met Mr Rumsfeld later, was quoted as saying he believed a solution to the dispute could be found.

In our one-on-one talks, we had an energetic start and discussed a wide range of questions

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov

The Americans are planning the missile defence shield to protect themselves against attacks by what Washington considers to be rogue states.

But Moscow is sticking to its objections - a missile shield is unnecessary at best, it says, and at worst could lead to a new nuclear arms race.

Mr Ivanov was asked at a news conference whether Mr Rumsfeld had persuaded him to change his mind over missile defence.

"I'm afraid not," he replied.

""In our one-on-one talks, we had an energetic start and discussed a wide range of questions, which did not only focus on military security," he said, quoted by Russian news agency Interfax.

Low expectations

The Americans appear to have acknowledged in advance that the Russians would not be easily persuaded.

Pentagon officials had stressed that the defence secretary was not aiming for any concrete results during this visit.

The best hope for the Americans is that the question of missile defence can be linked to other security issues close to Moscow's heart.

The Russians are keen to make big cuts in their nuclear arsenal in order to save money.

Compromise

Moscow is also worried about plans to expand Nato membership further into Eastern Europe.

Military analysts say these various defence issues could possibly be linked in an eventual compromise.

This is Donald Rumsfeld's first visit to Moscow as defence secretary.

The trip had been scheduled to last two days, but Mr Rumsfeld managed to condense them into a single 14-hour day.

As well as sitting down to talks with the president and Mr Ivanov, Mr Rumsfeld's agenda also includes a river cruise and dinner at the US visitor's hotel.