Washington reply will show US real aims in Europe – Russian general

Interfax-AVN military news agency website
8 Jun 07

Moscow, 8 June: Washington’s reply to Moscow’s proposal on the joint
use of the Daryal radar station in Qabala in Azerbaijan will show what
aims the USA is pursuing deploying its missile defence facilities in
Eastern Europe, according to Russian State Duma MP Maj-Gen Nikolay
Bezborodov.

"If the USA’s statements to the effect that the deployment of the
elements of the missile defence system in Europe is indeed not directed
against Russia, then Washington should support Vladimir Putin’s
proposal," Bezborodov told Interfax-AVN on Friday [8 June].

The Qabala radar station covers exactly the direction which, judging by
statements by American politicians and the military, is of great
concern to them. The Qabala radar station is looking south covering all
missile directions, with its big perimeter starting in Turkey and
ending in Pakistan," he said.

"The proposal of the Russian head of state "clearly shows that it is
Russia that stands for constructive dialogue and cooperation," the MP
said.

According to him, the Qabala radar station "is exactly the station
which will make it possible, literally a few seconds after a missile is
launched, not just to detect the launch, that can be done by satellites
in geostationary orbit, but also to track down the missile’s trajectory
and pass advance information for the missile’s interception at a
required point".

Earlier, the former chief of the Main Staff of the Strategic Missile
Troops, Col-Gen Viktor Yesin, told Interfax-AVN that "in order to
control missile launches in Iran, the Americans’ cooperation with
Russia would suffice since our Qabala radar station in Azerbaijan is
quite capable of providing this control".

The Qabala radar station (range capability is about 6,000 km) was put
into operation in 1984 and went on combat duty in February 1985. It is
part of the Russian missile attack early warning system and is designed
to record intercontinental ballistic missile launches in the Southern
Hemisphere, including intercontinental ballistic missile launches from
US submarine missile carriers in the Indian Ocean basin, and to monitor
the air space and space in the southern direction.

The Daryal radar monitors the air space and space over the territory of
Iran, Turkey, India, Iraq, Pakistan, partially China, as well as other
Asian and African countries.

The station is designed to conduct continuous reconnaissance of space
to detect ballistic missiles in the trajectory of their flight and
space object in orbit, defining the parameters of their movement and
providing information on space and jamming analysis to the command
posts of the missile attack warning system.

The legal status of the radar station in Qabala is stipulated in the
Russian-Azerbaijani agreement of 25 January 2002.