Russia urges U.S. to shelve missile plans, look for alternatives

17:45 | 09/ 06/ 2007

MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s foreign minister said Saturday
the U.S. should put on hold moves to deploy a missile shield in Europe
pending talks on Moscow’s recent offer to jointly use a radar in
Azerbaijan.

President Putin reiterated Friday at a news conference following the G8
summit in Germany that the U.S. missile defense plans are directed
against a nonexistent threat, and would jeopardize Russia’s national
security.

"The sharing of data from this [Azerbaijan] facility will enable the
United States to abandon plans to deploy missile defense elements in
Europe, as well as plans to deploy space based components," Sergei
Lavrov said.

He said the U.S. plans would undermine UN efforts to resolve the
Iranian nuclear problem.

"Nobody has proved that the Iranian nuclear program has a military
component," Sergei Lavrov said. "Missile shield deployment in Europe
may hamper [the UN] efforts and cast doubt over Iran’s desire to
cooperate."

He said that if the U.S. really seeks stability, it should avoid
actions affecting the security of its partners, adding that the two
leaders would consider the issue during Putin’s visit to the U.S. July
1-2.

Putin said earlier that if Washington accepts its offer, Russia would
not be forced to deploy its own missiles in its European exclave of
Kaliningrad, or move its missiles closer to Russia’s western borders.

Despite repeated U.S. assurances that the Central European missile
shield would be directed against unpredictable states such as Iran and
North Korea, the president said Moscow is convinced that the plans
"jeopardize the security of Russia and its citizens."

The Gabala radar, located near the town of Minchegaur, 120 kilometers
(75 miles) from the capital Baku, was leased to Russia for 10 years in
2002.

The radar has been operational since early 1985. With a range of 6,000
kilometers (3,700 miles), it is the most powerful in the region and can
detect any missile launches in Asia, the Middle East and parts of
Africa.

Under current agreements, the radar, Russia’s only military facility in
Azerbaijan, cannot be put into full combat mode without Baku’s consent.
Its status has been a source of environmental and other concerns in
recent years.

In an interview with the Associated Press Friday, U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice appeared to throw cold water on Putin’s
proposal, saying the U.S. would continue its talks with Poland and the
Czech Republic on its missile shield plans regardless of whether
negotiations begin on the Russian offer.