After his visit to Gabala Tuesday, Brigadier General Patrick O'Reilly said the U.S. is only studying the radar's parameters, and will analyze them later. "This was a technical level visit to give our experts an opportunity to get a tour of the facility and a briefing on its capabilities. There were no formal negotiations or consultations," he said.
The United States said in January it was planning to deploy components of its global antimissile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland to avert possible strikes from "rogue states," such as Iran and North Korea.
But Russia, already unnerved by NATO expansion to former Warsaw Pact member states, has condemned the plans as a threat to national security and a destabilizing factor for Europe. Moscow warned that its response would be commensurate and effective.
At the G8 summit in June, President Vladimir Putin offered the U.S. the use of the Gabala radar, which Russia leases from Azerbaijan, as a compromise solution in the ongoing dispute. The radar, located near the town of Minchegaur, 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital Baku, was leased to Russia for 10 years in 2002.
O'Reilly also said he believes that Gabala, like other complicated missile defense facilities, functions well separately, but added that its interaction with other facilities should be studied. He also said that the issue will be discussed by U.S. and Russian experts at a meeting in Moscow on October 10.
O'Reilly said the U.S. had offered Russia the chance to visit American missile defense facilities in Colorado, Alaska and California to contribute to cooperation in the sphere.
The Gabala 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 can detect any missile launches in Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
In turn, Major-General Alexander Yakushin, first deputy chief of staff of the Russian Space Forces, said he is sure the U.S. is interested in dialogue on the use of the radar station.
"The work was fruitful, at least we heard words of gratitude from our American colleagues, and the work that was done allowed us to switch from discussions and briefings to the practical matters," he said.
