A missile defence shield should be built that includes not just all countries of Nato, but also Russia too, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on March 27 2010 at the Brussels Forum 2010, organised by the German Marshall Fund.
 
"One security roof, that we build together, that we support together, and that we operate together. One security roof that protects us all, Rasmussen said.
 
Rasmussen said the threat of missile proliferation was real and growing and, in cases such as Iran, these missiles could threaten Nato territories.
 
With the new US approach to missile defence there were now much better opportunities for an effective Nato-wide system, Rasmussen said: "A system that would add to the territorial defence of our populations and nations".
 
"A true joint Euro-Atlantic missile defence would demonstrate our collective will, not only to defend ourselves against the new threats of today and tomorrow, but also to shoulder the responsibility," he said.
 
"It would send a clear message to proliferators that there is nothing to be gained from missile proliferation," Rasmussen said.
 
Such a project would be an opportunity for Europe to demonstrate again to the United States "that the Allies are ready and willing to invest in the capabilities we need to defend ourselves".
 
And it would allow Europe to play an active role in a process which, until now, was conducted "largely over their heads", by the US and Russia, according to Rasmussen.
 
Yet another reason for developing missile defence was to create a new dynamic in European and Euro-Atlantic security, he said.
 
There was a lot of talk these days about the Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Russia, in particular, had focused on treaties, on conferences, and on political arrangements, Rasmussen said. 
 
But architecture had to move beyond blueprints, he said. "It needs to be built. And missile defence is a concrete way to do that."
 
"The more that missile defence can be seen as a security roof in which we all have a share, the more people from Vancouver to Vladivostok would know that they were part of one community. One community, sharing real security, against a real threat, using real technologies.
 
"One security roof would be a very strong political symbol that Russia is fully part of the Euro-Atlantic family, sharing the benefits and the costs – not outside, but very much inside," Rasmussen said.
 
There would be many practical challenges, he said. 
 
"We would have to hook up our systems. Share intelligence assessments. And link sensitive technologies. But that’s precisely the point. 
 
"If we do decide that this makes sense, then we would link up our systems; we would share technology; and we would share intelligence. That is a concrete way to build trust and confidence in each other," Rasmussen said. 
 
"We need a decision, by Nato’s next Summit in November, that missile defence for our populations and territories is an Alliance mission. And that we will explore every opportunity to co-operate with Russia," he said.
 
"But we also need a decision from Russia – a decision to view missile defence as an opportunity, rather than a threat," Rasmussen said.
 
Speaking at the Brussels forum, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov said that building a missile defence shield to cover all European countries could rebuild people's confidence in Nato and show them that Nato was genuinely taking care of their security, rather than just engaging in operations at the other end of the world.