US military team set to inspect Azerbaijan radar station

By Andrew Ward in Sydney

FT
September 8 2007 03:00

A US military delegation is poised to visit Azerbaijan later this month to inspect a radar station that Russia has proposed as an alternative to missile defence facilities in central Europe.

Vladimir Putin, Russian president, announced the trip yesterday after talks with George W. Bush, his US counterpart, at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Sydney.

A senior White House official confirmed the US had agreed "in principle" to send experts to inspect the Russian-operated facility at Gabala.

Jim Jeffrey, deputy national security adviser, said US experts would assess how the Gabala site could be integrated into a "continent-wide missile defence system".

Mr Putin floated the idea of US access to the radar in June, after months of tensions over Washington's plans to locate a radar in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland.

The US has so far refused to back down from its plans for central Europe but has expressed interest in Russia's proposal for co-operation on missile defence.

"What the president wants - and he underlined this with President Putin again today - is to move forward together with the Russians," said Mr Jeffrey.

Russia is worried that the US plans are aimed at blunting its missile arsenal but Washington insists the proposed shield is designed to defend against threats from the Middle East.