Obama: NATO Leaders Agree on Missile Defense

U.S. President Barack Obama says NATO leaders, for the first time, have come to an agreement on a missile defense system that will cover all member countries.

The announcement came on the first day of a summit of the military alliance held in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon.

The NATO leaders also backed the START treaty with Russia, which President Obama said on Thursday is a “national security imperative”.

Missile defense is a key component of NATO’s new strategic concept, which was approved by leaders Friday.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the adoption of a new mission statement a “historic moment” for the 28-member alliance. The statement covers a variety of ways the alliance plans to meet the security challenges of the 21st century.

Rasmussen said the alliance faces a range of new 21st-century challenges, including global terrorism, the spread of missiles and cybersecurity.

U.S. President Barack Obama is likely to use the summit in Lisbon to unveil a four-year drawdown plan for the alliance’s 130,000 combat troops in Afghanistan.

Mr. Obama said the summit is an important opportunity for leaders to “align” on a plan to gradually hand control of Afghanistan back to Afghan security forces, beginning next year.

Speaking at a news conference in Lisbon with Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, Mr. Obama said the summit will also serve as an opportunity to strengthen the U.S. partnership with the European Union.