Russia upset at US-Ukraine missile defence talks

Russia said yesterday it was worried about US talks on the use of Ukrainian radar stations as part of a revised missile defence shield, a step that could hinder efforts to reset ties between the two Cold War foes.

Russia, which is extremely sensitive to any hint of US cooperation with former Soviet republics, initially welcomed President Barack Obama's scrapping of Bush-era plans for a missile defence system in central Europe.

But Moscow has been irked by a US statement that countries like Ukraine could contribute early warning information as part of the revised shield plan.

"We feel concerned," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by RIA news agency as saying when asked about the possible use of Ukrainian radars by the US. The comments indicate a further setback in efforts to reset ties between the two Cold War foes after rows in recent years over the 2008 war in Georgia, Nato enlargement towards Russia's borders and missile defence.

Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Oleh Shamshur suggested Russia had missed its chance to use information from Ukrainian radars.

"We are also talking about the question of using our defence radars across Ukraine's territory, which, as you all know, Russia has declined to use," Mr Shamshur was quoted as saying.

Mr Shamshur's comments appeared to relate to possible use by Washington of two Soviet-era early alert stations at Mukachevo in western Ukraine and one near the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry declined to comment.

Since Mr Obama's revision of the Bush-era missile plans, Moscow has said the system now being proposed leaves many questions unanswered and the Kremlin has refused to publicly support Washington's stance on Iran.

The administration of former US President George W. Bush had planned to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic to repel potential attacks from Iran. The plans were deeply opposed by Moscow as Russian generals said the system could have been used to neutralise Russia's vast nuclear deterrent. They brushed aside US assurances that the plans were not aimed at Russia.