By Paul Waugh and Hugh Winsor
OTTAWA - George Bush's flagship National Missile Defence policy was mired in confusion last night after Jean Chrétien, the Canadian Prime Minister, said the US could drop the plan in the face of foreign opposition.
As Tony Blair prepared to fly to Washington today for his first meeting with the US President, the Bush administration did not confirm its commitment to the policy but Mr Bush said he was pleased with what appeared to be a shift in Russia's all-out opposition to NMD. The project, for a missile shield to protect the US from nuclear attack, will be top of the agenda at Mr Blair's scheduled meeting with Mr Bush at Camp David.
Mr Chrétien surprised Mr Blair and sparked a diplomatic flurry in Nato when he said Mr Bush had assured him that NMD would not go ahead without the approval of US allies.
The Canadian leader, who met Mr Bush two weeks ago, told MPs in Ottawa this week that no decision would be taken without approval. "I have discussed that with the President," he said. "The Americans ... have decided they will not proceed if it will cause a lot of problems for Nato and if they cannot find an agreement with the Chinese and the Russians." Mr Bush said he spoke to Mr Chrétien but did not say whether he discussed NMD.
Mr Blair addressed both Houses of Parliament in Canada yesterday on a 25-hour stop-off en route to Washington and later the Canadian Prime Minister repeated his statement standing beside Mr Blair.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defense Secretary, told European defence ministers in Munich two weeks ago that although the US would consult, and may share protection under the shield, it would press ahead regardless of external opinion.
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