Russia can meet US missile challenge, general says

MOSCOW, Mar 2 (Reuters) A top Russian general said today he was not concerned by tentative US plans to establish missile defence radars in one of the Caucasus states as Russia had its own missile shield.

''We have everything needed to adequately respond to all these deployments,'' Russian news agencies quoted Russia's Air Force commander General Vladimir Mikhailov as saying.

''They have lots of cash, let them spend it,'' he added.

The head of the US Missile Defense Agency said yesterday Washington could be interested in complementing elements of the Missile Defence System it is planning to deploy in Central Europe with a radar located in an unspecified Caucasus state.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the remarks.

Air Force Lt Gen Henry Obering said having a radar in the Caucasus region, located just south of Russia, would be ''useful, but not essential''. He did not specify a country.

Mikhailov said Russia's answer to the US idea was the S-400, the latest generation of Russian missile defence complexes, which has a range of 400 km and is capable of handling attacks from space.

Russia opposes US plans to deploy elements of its missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic and questions the true target of the project, which is officially designed to avert missile attacks by states such as Iran or North Korea.

Any concrete plan to deploy elements of this system in the Caucasus region, which includes the three ex-Soviet republics of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, is sure to provoke a strong political reaction from Moscow.

Russia has tense relations with Georgia, whose pro-Western leadership seeks membership in NATO and the European Union. Many Russian politicians blame Washington for deliberately provoking tensions in Moscow's relations with ex-Soviet republics.

REUTERS SP BD1810