A Russian soldier stands near the Qabala radar station some 230 km (143 miles) northwest of Baku June 30, 2007. Russia is primed to upgrade its anti-missile radar in Azerbaijan as part of a joint security measure with the United States proposed by President Vladimir Putin, an army official said on Saturday.
Photo: Reuters
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Washington to Drop Missile-Defense Plans for Eastern Europe to Ease Russia’s Concern
Washington will ease Russia’s concern about deployment of the U.S. missile defense shield in Eastern Europe if it abandons these plans, said Gen. Lt. Evgeny Buzhinsky, who is the deputy chief of the main foreign cooperation department at the RF Defense Ministry.
Russia has been in talks with the United States about the actions targeted at easing Russia’s anxiety about the issue. But Washington has to drop those plans to end the anxiety, Buzhinsky specified.
“The hope is lingering on that the Americans will think better of it and realize that deploying missile-defense components isn't worth it,” the official emphasized. “But personally, I very much doubt. In the United States, there is the two-party consensus on creation of global missile defense system that provides for stationing its elements in Eastern Europe.”
They won’t confine to Europe, Buzhinsky forecasted. “It isn’t just an opportunity of creating a small element. We may get a whole web of these elements around Russia in the end.”
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