WASHINGTON — The United States on Friday sought to reassure Russia that Washington had no plans to deploy radars or weaponry in Ukraine as part of its new missile defense plan.
The Defense Department was forced to clarify its plans after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voiced concern over the new missile shield and said a report that Ukraine might be part of the system was "rather unexpected."
US Assistant Secretary of Defense Alexander Vershbow had told reporters on Thursday that Ukraine and other countries have expressed an interest in hosting a radar site for the shield.
But the Pentagon said: "He (Vershbow) did not make any reference to the stationing of US radars or any other missile defense systems on the territory of Ukraine, and no such proposal has been made to the government of Ukraine."
The United States remained interested in earlier proposals dating back several years that would involve sharing data from Russian early-warning radars in Armavir and in Azerbajian, it said.
President Barack Obama last month said Washington was scrapping an older plan to deploy anti-missile weaponry and radar in Poland and the Czech Republic, a system strongly backed by former US president George W. Bush.
Russia, which fiercely opposed the Bush missile shield, initially welcomed the Obama administration's move but said it needed to study the details.
The new US plan "raises more questions than answers," Lavrov said on Friday during a visit to Moldova for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a grouping of ex-Soviet countries.
Lavrov's comments came ahead of a trip to Russia next week by his US counterpart Hillary Clinton, signalling ties between the two former Cold War foes remained bumpy despite the US shift on missile defense.
Under the new plan, Washington would replace the land-based sites in Poland and the Czech Republic with a network of sensors and sea-based interceptors designed to protect Europe against short- and medium-range missiles from Iran. The system would eventually add land-based interceptors in about 2015.
In his remarks Thursday, Vershbow said Russian officials initially responded with "euphoria" to Obama's missile shield decision but have since taken a more tempered view.
He said he was hopeful Russia would adopt a more cooperative attitude on the system.
"My sense is the Russians are taking a more objective look and they may be less inclined to throw up political conditions or obstacles," he said.
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