Russian President Vladimir Putin had called on the European Union and NATO to join forces with Moscow and set up a joint anti-missile shield during a visit to Rome Monday.

Putin had said at a news conference, "This will avoid creating problems linked to an imbalance in the equilibrium of forces, and ensure 100 percent the security of all European countries, with the obvious involvement of our American partners."

Zhang Qiyue, spokeswoman for the ministry of foreign affairs, said Tuesday China had taken note of the report about Putin's proposal, but was not clear on the details.

She, however, repeated China's longstanding opposition to any country violating the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, which controls nuclear armament and weapons proliferation.

"The Chinese side maintains that adherence to the ABM treaty conforms with the strategic balance and stability and conforms with the common interest of countries concerned," Zhang said during a routine press briefing.

In response to a reporter's question on whether China would support Russia if Putin was open to some revision of the ABM treaty, Zhang said she was not aware of any such remarks Putin might have made to Clinton during their talks over the weekend.

However, her remarks suggested China would object to changes from the Russian side.

"Any efforts to amend the ABM treaty or to withdraw from it would not only threaten the nuclear disarmament process but would also shake the basis for nuclear non-proliferation and would give rise to a new round of arms race, including an arms race in outer space," Zhang said.

"We think such efforts would create an adverse impact on the global strategic balance and stability and would end up doing good to no country."

Russia and China have vehemently objected to a proposal by Washington to develop a national missile defense system to shield it from attacks by rogue states such as North Korea.

Putin and Clinton in their first meeting agreed nuclear proliferation posed a growing threat to global security but while they pledged to seek solutions that met their mutual security needs they remained divided on how to confront the menace.

US Defense Secretary William Cohen said Putin's recognition of a missile threat and proposal for a Russian-European defense system were "a step forward," but added Putin's proposal was "quite vague."

Copyright 2000 AFP. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by AFP and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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