BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

27/11/2008

Lukashenko Hopes Russia, U.S. Will Resolve Problem of Nmd in Europe

MINSK. Nov 27 (Interfax-West) - Russia has capabilities for a stronger response to the proposed deployment of the U.S. missile shield in Europe than the voiced plan to locate Iskander missile systems in the Kaliningrad region, according to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"If the United States wants to deploy the missile shield, having Russia in mind, it would be a mosquito bite on an elephant. What can a dozen missiles do against a giant like Russia? This is just an irritant, nothing more. But if it is the first step, to be followed by others, it will alarm Russia and impel it to react," Lukashenko said in an interview with French journalists, posted on his website.

"What was said about jamming these sites with radio-electronic means, or hitting them with Iskander missiles, was a delicate way of offering a response. Russia has more powerful levers, and more dangerous things to display than the Iskanders. Russia has missiles which need not to be moved to Kaliningrad Region," the Belarusian president said.

"Escalation is something the Americans do not need, to say nothing of the Europeans," he said.

"Why should Poland or the Czech Republic stand viewed through the sights of Russian missiles? I think, a solution will be finally found. The U.S could deploy these systems in some other place instead of destabilizing Europe. Europe does not want this," he said.

On his country's acquiring Iskander systems, Lukashenko said, citing the national rearmament program, adopted a few years ago, that, "Belarus will modernize the armed forces, including the missile component, replacing individual systems with Iskanders."

"We have been planning to buy these modern systems for a long time. But we are short of money, so this is not something to be done in the near future," Lukashenko said.

There is nothing new in the proposed signing for an agreement with Russia on the formation of a single regional air defense system, Lukashenko added. "Russia is urging us today to sign an agreement on cooperation in air defense. There is nothing new here, except the need to put this process on a legal footing," he said.

The essence of this cooperation is in that Russia would like to rely on Belarusian air defense troops in the Western direction. They are sufficiently powerful. I do not think Iskanders would make our armed forces much stronger," the Belarusian president said.

Concerning military cooperation with Russia, the president said, "One should not be saying we are doing this against anyone. There is no need for us to play against Europe, America or anyone else. We will perform functions within the framework of the Belarusian- Russian group of forces, with the Belarusian army being its nucleus," he said.

Belarus shares Russia's fears regarding NATO's enlargement, Lukashenko said.

Source:

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2837718.html

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