Russia opposes using its radars in Gabala and Armavir to reinforce the U.S. missile defense system, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak told reporters on Saturday.
"The United States wants to use the potential of the Gabala radar, and possibly a radar in Armavir, to reinforce its system, rather than as an alternative to its third positing district. But a common solution cannot be secured by 'picking raisins from a bread' on one's own," Kislyak was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
At the Group of Eight summit in June, Putin offered the United States the use of the Gabala radar base in Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic, to replace its plans to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic.
"These measures are based on a real assessment of the situation, on the readiness to search for types of interaction, which would allow to secure predictability in this area and would not damage security interests of cooperating partners," he said.
"This proposal is still on the negotiating table," Kislyak said. However, "I cannot say that U.S. colleagues are working seriously on it," the deputy foreign minister said.
"Initially, the idea of using the Gabala radar was aimed at guaranteeing together that the situation is predictable and, if needed, to have all technical guarantees against the missile nonproliferation, given that Russian interests are not damaged," he said.
Russia strongly opposes U.S. plans to build the missile defense system in central Europe, saying it is a direct threat to its security and will break the strategic balance in the region.
Source: Xinhua
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