Vladimir Putin reiterated Friday at a news conference following the G8 summit in Germany that the U.S. missile defense plans are directed against a nonexistent threat, and would undermine Russia's national security.
The previous day, at talks with his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush, Putin offered the Pentagon to use the Soviet-built Gabala radar in Azerbaijan to detect missile launches. Bush did not directly respond to the offer, but a senior White House advisor said the U.S. would consider it.
President Putin said that if Washington agrees, Russia will not be forced to deploy its own missiles in its European exclave of Kaliningrad, or move its missiles closer to Russia's western borders.
Despite repeated U.S. assurances that the Central European missile shield would be directed against unpredictable states such as Iran and North Korea, the president said Moscow is convinced that the plans "undermine the security of Russia and its citizens."
"My Gabala offer for our American partners is much broader than to build a radar there. The main point is that we do not actually need to build anything. Everything was built in Soviet times," he said. "We can upgrade it if necessary, and share all necessary data in real-time mode."
If accepted, Russia's radar solution would automatically help resolve the issue, Putin said.
"In this case, there will be no need for our partners to place offensive weapons in outer space - which in itself is a real threat to international security - or build a new radar in the Czech Republic, or deploy missiles in Poland," he said. "[Interceptor missiles] can be placed on floating platforms, on warships, or in southern countries, including U.S. NATO allies."
Putin specified that if the U.S. agrees to the Russian offer, "there would be no necessity of pointing our missiles at any sites in Europe or in the United States."
The president reiterated that an Iranian missile threat will be out of the question for years to come, and called for a multilateral meeting to assess missile threats that could confront Europe up to 2020.
Acknowledging that consultations and negotiations will take some time, Putin said equal access to such a new system was crucial, and added he hoped no hasty unilateral moves would be made until the process is complete.
"Iran does not have such missiles today. If Iran starts developing them, we will find out immediately. Even if we fail to find it out, we will learn about it as soon as the first tests begin," he said.
Putin dismissed any possibility that a radar as close to Iran's borders as Azerbaijan would damage relations with Tehran.
"I don't think it will harm our relations with Iran because this radar has been operational for quite some time," he said.
The Gabala radar, located near the town of Minchegaur, 120 km (75 miles) from the capital Baku, was leased to Russia for 10 years in 2002.
The radar has been operational since early 1985. With a range of 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles), it is the most powerful in the region and detects launches of any missiles from Asia, Middle East and parts of Africa. Under current agreements, the radar, Russia's only military facility in Azerbaijan, cannot be put into full combat mode without Baku's prior consent. Its status has been the source of environmental and other tensions in recent years.
In an interview the Associated Press on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared to throw cold water on Putin's proposal, saying the U.S. would continue its talks with Poland and the Czech Republic on its missile shield plans regardless of whether negotiations begin on the Russian offer.
