http://www.spacedaily.com/news/010129204603.05v3ptzu.html

TURIN, Italy (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac on Monday expressed concern that US President George W. Bush's plans to deploy a national missile defense (NMD) system could spark a fresh arms race.

"Our worry comes from the fact that for us, the NMD must not be allowed to spark a fresh worldwide arms race," Chirac told a press conference at the end of a Franco-Italian summit here.

"It is a technology that has colossal costs," Chriac said, questioning the "contradiction" of spending such sums on defence while public development aid declined.

Several critics, including Russia and China, have urged Bush to drop the NMD plan, arguing that US deployment of the missile defense shield would breach the terms of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, a cornerstone of current nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament agreements.