Russia asks US to halt missile shield plans in Europe

Moscow, June 9 (UNI) Russia today urged the US to halt all moves to deploy a missile shield in Europe, pending talks on Moscow's recent offer to jointly use Gabala radar station in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan.

The sharing of data from the Azerbaijan's radar facility would enable the United States to abandon plans to deploy missile defence elements in Europe and space based components, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference here.

He said the US plans would undermine UN efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem.

It has not been proved that the Iranian nuclear programme has a military component, Lavrov said, stressing that missile shield deployment in Europe might hamper the UN efforts and cast doubt over Iran's desire to cooperate.

He stated if the US really wanted stability, it should avoid actions affecting the security of its partners, adding Russian President Vladimir Putin would discuss his alternative proposal with Bush during his visit to Washington on July 1-2.

Putin reiterated yesterday at a news conference following the G8 summit in Germany that the US missile defence plans were directed against a non-existent threat, and would jeopardize Russia's national security.

UNI