Russia's Lavrov says US missile defence offer 'a step backwards'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called written US offers aimed at allaying Russia's concerns over planned missile defences in eastern Europe 'a step backwards'.

'We're continuing to examine in detail the written proposals that we finally received, but it's already clear that it's a step backwards compared with declarations from US officials in Moscow at the start of October,' Lavrov said in a statement after talks in Washington with US officials.

'If they understand cooperation as the development of unilateral plans to construct their anti-missile shield in eastern Europe and ask us only to help realise these plans and give them all our information, we understand it otherwise,' he said.

Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday, a month and a half after she visited Moscow with Defence Secretary Robert Gates and made the proposals for US-Russian missile defence cooperation.

The Russian foreign ministry said last week that Moscow had received Washington's missile defence proposals in writing and was studying them.

Lavrov also criticised their 'lack of transparency'.