Senior defense officials from Russia and the United States will discuss a
proposal, prepared by Russia, aiming to establish a joint air defense system in
Europe this fall, Russian First Vice Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said
yesterday.
Russia made the proposal after Washington initiated plans earlier this year
to build a U.S. anti-missile system in central Europe, featuring interceptor
missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic. Kremlin had voiced
fierce opposition to the U.S. plans.
The proposals pose "an evident threat" to Russia and "draw a new dividing
line -- like a new Berlin Wall," Ivanov said in an interview on Rossiya TV.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed in June a joint radar warning
system in Azerbaijan as a substitute to Washington's anti-missile system.
Russia will take "definite counter measures" against the U.S. plans, said
Ivanov, a potential Putin successor.
