Saakashvili rules out stationing of US radars

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said the missile defense system the United States plans to station in the South Caucasus will not be based in his country.

In reply to journalists’ questions, Saakashvili said there is no official information available on the stationing of such radars. “All the reports in this respect are a mere speculation,” he said.

Pentagon officials have announced plans to station a mobile radar in one of the South Caucasus countries. Analysts say that such a radar – if established in the region – would be based in Azerbaijan or Georgia, as its stationing in Armenia is highly unlikely.

But a senior Azerbaijani official said Baku was not considering stationing US radars on its soil.

The United States is in talks with Poland and the Czech Republic on the issue, but it is still unclear where the radars will be based. US plans to extend its missile defense system into Eastern Europe and the Caucasus have been met with hostility by Moscow.

The transportable radar would provide an “early acquisition track” on any hostile missile.*