/ 7 June 2007

Kremlin: Putin plan would remove need for US radar

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s idea of using a radar station in Azerbaijan to develop a missile shield would remove the need for a United States radar in central Europe, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Thursday.

At a meeting with US President George Bush during a Group of Eight summit, Putin suggested the US and Russia jointly use a radar in Azerbaijan to develop a missile shield that would cover all of Europe.

”If there were radar in use at the Qabala station in Azerbaijan then there simply won’t be a need for another radar in Eastern Europe,” Kremlin deputy spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.

The US missile shield plan calls for stationing 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic. — Reuters