Russia could respond to U.S. radar in Caucasus - Air Force chief
02:31 PM (MSK) March 2, 2007
The deployment of a U.S. anti-missile radar system in the Caucasus would not affect Russia's defense capabilities, but the country could have to respond to the move nevertheless, the Russian Air Force commander said Friday. The statement came after a senior Pentagon official said Thursday that the United States "would like to place a radar in the Caucasus," and earlier reports of plans to place elements of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, which have further strained relations between the U.S. and Russia. "Let them deploy [a radar]," Vladimir Mikhailov said. "It is their decision. Unfortunately, we have also heard of plans to place U.S. missile shield elements in countries like Ukraine and other states, including former Soviet republics."
Mikhailov said Russia was capable of offering an adequate response to the deployment.
Russia, which has been anxious about NATO bases that have appeared in former Communist-bloc countries and ex-Soviet republics, has blasted the plans to deploy anti-missile systems in Central Europe as a national security threat and a destabilizing factor for Europe.
