Gabala RS’s possible role in missile defence cooperation not yet defined

Russia believes it is premature to speak about the Gabala radar station's role in cooperation with the U.S. on missile defence system, RIA Novosti quotes Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Tuesday.

"It is premature to speak about the role that the Gabala radar station could play in Russia's missile defence cooperation with the United States and NATO," he said.

Ryabkov added that Russia is demanding the U.S. and NATO issue legally binding guarantees that the missile defence system is not directed against Russia.

"Guarantees should be legally binding, but it is not just words. Besides that, the formulation should be legally binding in nature and accompanied by a set of objective military, technical criteria, upon which the Russian side would itself judge whether the missile defence is not directed against it," Ryabkov said.

In early April Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that at present there is no question of transferring any data from the Gabala radar station to the U.S. as part of the missile defence cooperation.


/Trend/