U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday the Russian government appears divided over how to respond to a U.S. proposal for extending an American missile defense network to Europe."There clearly have to be divisions in Moscow on how to respond," Gates said at a joint news conference in Berlin with his German counterpart, Franz Josef Jung. "It doesn't surprise me."
Gates added that it was possible that he had publicly characterized his meeting on missile defense in Moscow on Monday and Tuesday "too warmly," prompting critical comments by senior Russian officials after he departed. Officials in Moscow have called the U.S. plan destabilizing and a potential threat to Russia.
"I have no doubt there is debate in Moscow on how to respond, given the circumstances," Gates said.
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