Caucasus states say no proposal received on U.S. missile shield

Three Caucasus states said on Friday that they have received no proposal from Washington on deploying U.S. missile defense systems in the region, Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency reported Friday.

The head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said on Thursday Washington could be interested in locating a radar in an unspecified Caucasus state as part of the Missile Defence System it plans to deploy in Central Europe.

The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry said the country has not and will not negotiate with the U.S. on deploying a missile defense system, or on building a military base in Azerbaijan, which is against its constitution.

Georgian Congress officials also denied receiving U.S. proposals on the same issue, saying as a member state of the International Anti-terror Coalition, Georgia will give good consideration to such proposals if there are any.

For its part, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said it is cooperating with Russia in the field of air defense, and is now a part of the joint air defense system of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Source: Xinhua