The U.S. State Department has called on Russia to cooperate on European missile defense to become assured that the defense shield will not harm its deterrent, RIA Novosti reports.

“Close cooperation between Russia and the United States and NATO is the best and most enduring way for Russia to gain the assurance that European missile defenses cannot and will not undermine its strategic deterrent,” Frank A. Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, said on Tuesday, July 3.

“Russia is not being asked to blindly trust us. Through cooperation, Russia would see firsthand that this system is designed for the ballistic missile threat from outside the Euro-Atlantic area, and that NATO missile defense systems will not undermine Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrent capabilities,” Rose said at the 8th International Conference on Missile Defense in Paris.

“Cooperation would send a strong message to proliferators that the United States, NATO, and Russia are working together to counter their efforts,” he said.

Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on the so-called European missile defense system at the Lisbon summit in November 2010. NATO insists there should be two independent systems that exchange information, while Russia favors a joint system with full-scale interoperability.