Biden thanks Romania for support of new missile shield plans

Biden thanks Romania for support of new missile shield plansBucharest  - US Vice-President Joe Biden Thursday thanked the government of Romania for its quick backing of new plans for a US missile defence programme.

The new system, which replaces a recently scrapped Bush-era plan that would have based planned facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic, is better constructed to protect both Romania and the United States, Biden told Romanian President Traian Basescu.

The new system, details of which are few according to some experts, would use short and medium-range systems to counter potential threats from Iran. The previous system, which relied on long-range systems, had been viewed as a potential threat by Russia.

Biden also stressed that the missile defence system is not targeted at Russia. Other focuses of the one-day visit were energy and the political situation in neighbouring Moldavia.

He is scheduled to travel from Bucharest to Prague.(dpa)