"The United States' national missile defense is not only an issue between Russia and the USA," Ivanov, speaking in Russian, told reporters at a news conference capping a two-day visit to Finland.

"Other countries need to be consulted too," he said.

His comments came after US diplomats fanned out around the globe over the past week for what Washington described as early "consultations" with a number of countries on the missile plan specifically and on new directions in strategic thinking being floated by President George W. Bush.

Some of those US envoys were in Moscow on Friday where a foreign ministry spokesman said they had failed to convince Russia of the theoretical need for the new US missile defense system which is banned under the 1972 ABM Treaty signed by Washington and Moscow.

Ivanov repeated Russia's official position, stating the the ABM (anti-ballistic missile) Treaty had provided the crucial underpinning of global strategic stability for the past three decades and must not be scrapped unilaterally, as the United States has at times said it would consider doing.

But the Russian minister, responding to a question on the possibility of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expanding to include former Soviet republics or satellite states, indicated Moscow was interested in reviewing the strategic security status-quo.

"We shouldn't only talk about NATO enlargement but about a European security architecture for the 21st century built on trust and cooperation, where no country's security needs are ignored," he said.

Ivanov said he would be travelling to Washington for a visit on May 18 to hold further discussions on the US missile plan and other issues. Related Links
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