Moscow - The German Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, said yesterday after talks with his Russian counterpart, Mr Igor Ivanov, that Moscow was willing to be constructive in a dispute with Washington over US plans for a missile defence system.
Russia opposes US plans for a missile shield, which Washington wants to protect it from "rogue states". Russia says the shield is aimed at its nuclear arsenal while Germany and other European states have been sceptical of the US plans.
Mr Fischer said that international stability still rested to a great extent on the US and Russia.
Washington's declared intention to create a missile-based defence system, in abrogation of the terms of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, has been a source of tension between Russia and the US since the election of Mr George Bush as President.