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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Russia warns US on missile plan | Russia warns US on missile plan |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The US should halt moves to deploy a missile defence shield in central Europe, pending further talks, the Russian foreign minister has said. | |
| Sergei Lavrov was speaking after President Bush made clear Poland and the US were committed to the plan. | Sergei Lavrov was speaking after President Bush made clear Poland and the US were committed to the plan. |
| Russia has proposed a radar station in Azerbaijan should be used instead of Polish and also Czech locations. | |
| Mr Lavrov said US plans could "seriously complicate" talks on the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme. | Mr Lavrov said US plans could "seriously complicate" talks on the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme. |
| The United Nations imposed sanctions on Iran in March after it refused to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. | |
| Putin's offer | |
| "It's necessary to freeze the deployment of a missile defence system in Europe for a period of study and analysis, as well as negotiations on this issue," Mr Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russia's Itar-Tass news agency. | |
| Mr Lavrov also said that America's stated intention of protecting against potential Iranian threat would anger Tehran by indicating that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, the Ria-Novosti news agency reported. | |
| See map of missile defence shield bases | |
| Mr Lavrov said that such a claim had not been proven. | |
| Mr Lavrov's comments come two days after a surprise offer to Washington by Russian President Vladimir Putin to jointly use a radar station in Azerbaijan, which borders Iran. | |
| The offer was made by Mr Putin at a G8 summit in Germany. | |
| How defence system works | |
| Mr Bush described the proposal as "interesting" and said US officials would study it. | |
| But during a brief visit to Poland on Friday he made it clear that both countries were still planning to go ahead with the proposed European missile defence shield. | |
| Russia has repeatedly dismissed US claims the defence shield is only targeting so-called rogue states, such as Iran and North Korea. | |
| In response, Moscow has said it may aim its missiles at Europe once more. | |
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