Russia threatens to stop missile defense cooperation with US

Russia warned on Thursday it may stop cooperation with the United States on a missile shield in Europe, Russian (RIA Novosti) News Agency reported. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow condemned Washington for making far-reaching decisions "without collective discussion" and ignoring the opinions of all interested parties. "If this continues, then the chance created at the NATO-Russia summit in Lisbon to turn anti-missile defense from an area of confrontation to an area of cooperation may be lost," the statement read. Russia made the statement after the United States and Spain agreed on Wednesday to deploy a number of US Navy cruisers in Spain as part of the nascent missile defense scheme.