LISBON, Portugal — Russia was receptive but stopped short of accepting a historic NATO invitation Saturday to join a missile shield protecting Europe against Iranian attack.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to involve technicians in development plans but did not make a commitment if it becomes operational and warned that Russia might decide against joining the U.S.-led effort if it doesn’t feel it is being treated equally as a partner.
“Our participation has to be a full-fledged exchange of information, or we won’t take part at all,” he told reporters after the announcement by NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
President Barack Obama praised Russia’s decision Saturday, saying it “turns a source of past tensions into a source of potential cooperation against a shared threat.”
