Putin's radar proposal to US to solve real security problems:Ivanov

Moscow, June 8 (UNI) Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov today said President Vladimir Putin's proposal to jointly use the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan provided good ground to counter contemporary challenges and threats, as an alternative to the US plans to deploy elements of national missile defence system, in Europe.

''President Vladimir Putin's proposal is aimed at solving real problems in the security area with both the US and EU,'' Ivanov said here while commenting on Russian leader's proposal to the US to jointly use the radar station in the former Soviet Republic.

''This creates a good ground to efficiently counter contemporary challenges and threats,'' he said.

Putin made the proposal yesterday to the US President George W Bush as an alternative to the US plans to deploy missile defence elements in Poland and the Czech Republic, in Europe, allegedly to counter threats from ''rogue states'' such as Iran and North Korea.

The chairman of the State Duma (lower house) International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev said US reaction to Russia's proposal to jointly use the radar in Azerbaijan, near Iran as part of a global missile shield will show Washington's motives behind its planned missile defence system in Europe.

''The US response to the Russian proposal will reveal whether the Americans are really concerned about the threats coming from certain global regions, which are common for both Russia and the United States,'' Kosachev told reporters, reacting to Putin's proposal to Bush, during their talks at the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Heiligen in Germany.

''If the Americans reject Russia's offer under a certain pretext, we will know for sure that their true goal is not only to stave off a potential threat from Iran or North Korea, but also to neutralize Russia's nuclear potential, which we could have assumed earlier,'' he noted.

The Gabala radar station, which Russia leases from Azerbaijan, is the most powerful in the region. It has a range of about 6,000 kilometres and enables Russia's Space Forces to monitor launches of inter-continental ballistic and other missiles in Asia and parts of Africa.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov said Baku was ready to start talks with Russia and the United States on the joint use of its Gabala radar station.

''Russia has approached us with an initiative to use the radar along with the US. Azerbaijan is prepared to start consultations in a bilateral and three-party format.'' Mamedyarov told RIA Novosti news agency.

UNI