Doubts on Russia missiles offer
By Demetri Sevastopulo and Guy Dinmore in Washington, and,Daniel Dombey
in London

FT
June 9 2007 03:00

After months of escalating tensions between Washington and Moscow over
US plans for a missile defence shield in Europe, President Vladimir
Putin this week surprised George W. Bush with an offer to co-operate
with the US.

While President Bush welcomed the offer, it was unclear if Russia was
making a serious proposal that the US could accept. The Pentagon wants
to install 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a powerful radar in
the Czech Republic. The US says the system is aimed at missile threats
from Iran. Moscow says there is no imminent threat from Iran,
suggesting that the system is aimed at Russia.

At the G8 summit on Thursday, Mr Putin proposed that the US and Russia
jointly host part of the system at a former Soviet radar station in
Azerbaijan. He added yesterday that, instead of Poland, the US could
host interceptors in Turkey, Iraq, or at sea.

US and Russian officials are expected to meet later to discuss the
idea. But questions already exist as to whether the Russian proposal
would be a substitute for the US plans. The radar in Azerbaijan, for
example, is not the kind of radar the US wants to place in the Czech
Republic.

"It is an early warning radar there, not an X-band of the type we are
proposing for the Czech Republic, but that type of radar can be used to
cue [point] an X-band at a hostile missile," said Richard Lehner,
spokesman for the US Missile Defense Agency.

It is also not clear whether the US would be willing to give up the
idea of putting missile interceptors in Poland, which the Pentagon says
is the best location in Europe.

Mr Putin said yesterday the radar in Azerbaijan "completely covers the
whole region that worries the Americans". But Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,
Nato secretary general, suggested that the proximity of Iran made Mr
Putin’s proposal less feasible.

While Mr Putin also suggested sea-based interceptors, the US is several
years away from even testing long-range missile interceptors, although
they are in development.

While military experts debate the technical merits of using Azerbaijan
as a forward radar base, Russia’s offer is possibly more significant in
geo-strategic terms if it leads to a closer partnership with the US in
countering Iran’s emergence as a regional power.

For Azerbaijan, the development could fit nicely with Baku’s strategy
of courting ties with both Moscow and Washington, but runs the risk of
antagonising Iran, which is said by opposition members in Azerbaijan to
be already active in backing Islamists there.

The Czech Republic was generally favourable toward Mr Putin’s offer,
relieved that Russia appeared to have accepted that there is a danger
of a potential missile attack from rogue states. In Poland, the
reaction was muted, although Anna Fotyga, the foreign minister, said
Russian threats were prompting Poland to strengthen its military
potential.

Additional reporting by Jan Cienski in Poland