MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the United States on Saturday to halt moves to deploy missile defence facilities in Europe pending negotiations on the issue, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
Lavrov’s remark suggested Moscow was unhappy that the United States has continued discussions on its plans to deploy facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic following Russia’s counteroffer of joint use of a radar station in Azerbaijan.
It’s necessary for Washington, at a minimum, to freeze the deployment of missile defence elements in Europe for a period of study and negotiations on the Russian proposal,’ ITAR-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying. We suggest that the US jointly and professionally evaluate (the issue) ... and reach a general understanding.’
Lavrov also warned that the US missile defence plans could hamper efforts to ease international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, RIA-Novosti reported. He suggested that Washington’s stated intention of protecting against a potential Iranian threat would anger Teheran by indicating that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons _ an assertion he said has not been proven.
Lavrov spoke two days after President Vladimir Putin, who has led Russia’s bitter objection to US plans to deploy a missile-defence radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Poland, surprised US President George W. Bush with the offer of joint use of a radar station in Azerbaijan, which borders Iran.
Meeting with Putin on Thursday during a Group of Eight summit in Germany, Bush agreed to consider the proposal. But the US administration made clear it was not abandoning plans for a program in Poland and the Czech Republic _ Cold War-era Soviet satellites that are now in NATO.
After presenting the plan to Bush, Putin _ who has threatened to retarget Russian missiles on Europe if the United Sates pushes ahead with the existing plan _ had warned the United States not to proceed with building the system while negotiations with Moscow take place.
On Friday, Bush pressed his plan for the system in a meeting with Polish counterpart Lech Kaczynski, who expressed support. Bush again shrugged off Moscow’s assertions that it would threaten Russia by tipping the strategic balance.
Putin added some clarity to the Russian offer Friday by suggesting locations for missile interceptors if Azerbaijan were to be used for the radar element, saying they could be placed in nations such as Turkey or Iraq, or on sea platforms.
But US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in an Associated Press interview in New York, said Friday that one does not choose sites for missile defence out of the blue,’ and that it was not yet clear whether Azerbaijan makes any sense in the context of missile defence.’
Leading Kremlin-allied lawmakers on Friday cast the Russian proposal as a clear-cut test of US intentions, saying the American response would show whether Washington’s missile-defence plans were aimed to weaken Russia.
Their remarks suggested that, while the offer opened the door for cooperation on a divisive issue that has strained relations, it may also have been aimed to push Bush into a corner, forcing Washington to accept it or face a further rift.
They suggested that, if the United States rejects the offer or seems to slight it, Putin could redouble his criticism of the United States, which he has accused of forcing its will on the world and fomenting a new arms race.
Source : www.khaleejtimes.com
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