U.S. Seeks to Reassure Russia on Missile Plans

WASHINGTON — The Clinton administration is seeking to reassure Russia that a proposal to invest $6.6 billion in a national system to defend against missile attack is not intended to undermine the credibility of Russia's large nuclear force.

White House officials said Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen was misunderstood when he mentioned Wednesday the possibility of abandoning the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that prohibits a national defense against missiles.

Robert Bell of the National Security Council also stressed that any decision on whether to deploy missile defenses will not be made before June 2000.

Russia has balked at changing the ABM Treaty to let the Americans deploy such a missile defense.