Norway urges NATO debate of missile shield

By John Acher and Wojciech Moskwa

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway called on Tuesday for a thorough debate among NATO allies on the United States' plan for a European missile defense system and said more clarity was needed on the threats the shield was meant to thwart.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told Reuters in an interview that NATO should also discuss boosting the civilian side of the international effort to stabilize Afghanistan -- NATO's biggest joint operation -- and involving more Afghans.

Those topics and others, such as Kosovo, the Balkans and the Middle East, will come up at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in the Norwegian capital on Thursday and Friday.

Stoere said NATO's Riga summit last year gave a mandate to discuss missile defense but those discussions were unfinished.

"The discussion around that should happen in a NATO context," Stoere said. "In general, key security issues should be issues among allies.

"To the extent that this is a matter for the NATO allies, and I think it is, it should be dealt with among NATO allies and not be derailed," Stoere said.

The U.S. plan has angered Russia, which fears it is intended to neutralize Moscow's missile arsenal, though Washington says it is meant to defend against missiles from "rogue states" such as North Korea or Iran.

The plan, which has also raised hackles in Europe, involves deploying 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic from 2012. Washington has offered Moscow a chance to cooperate in the project.