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RUSSIA'S TALKS OVER RADAR STATION IN AZERBAIJAN STALLED
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 24, 2012 - 13:02 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia's Defense Ministry is disappointed by the
lack of progress in talks with Azerbaijan over extending the lease
of the missile defense radar station in Azerbaijani town of Gabala, a
source in the ministry said on Thursday, May 24, RIA Novosti reported.
"The Russian military is disappointed by the non-constructive approach
from the Azerbaijani side concerning the talks on extending the lease
of the Gabala missile radar," the source said, adding that Moscow
would likely leave Gabala if the talks did not move ahead.
Russia has been negotiated with Azerbaijan to extend the lease of
the Soviet-era radar, which it has operated under a 2002 agreement
due to expire on December 24 this year.
The Russian Kommersant business daily reported in late February
that Azerbaijan had demanded Russia pay $300 million instead of the
previously agreed $7 million for the lease, which Russia is seeking
to extend until 2025.
The source in the Russian Defense Ministry also said that size of
the price increase was unreasonable, since the radar needed a full
renovation and the sum Baku was demanding for the lease was comparable
to the cost of constructing a new radar.
In 2007 Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested sharing Gabala
radar station with the United States, instead of deploying the NATO
missile defense shield in Czech Republic.
In early April, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that
Yerevan was ready to provide a site on its territory for construction
of a new Russian radar station if Moscow failed to agree on extending
the Gabala with Azerbaijan.
On Wednesday Russia placed its new Voronezh-M long-range missile
warning radar on duty in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, marking a
major increase in its missile early warning system capability. The new
Voronezh-M station can detect ballistic targets up to 6000 kilometers
and cover an arc from India to the United States.
Moscow has been concerned by U.S. plans to expand missile the defense
shield in Europe, and announced in early May that it could introduce
its massive Don-2NP radar system near Moscow as part of an agreement
with NATO on a European missile defense plan to counter medium and
long-range missiles.
The Don-2 radar, known to U.S. arms control negotiators in the 1980's
as the "pyramid" and to NATO as Pill Box, was put into operation
around 1989, and was the centerpiece of the USSR's anti-missile
defense system. The 100-meter square, 45 meter high phased-array
radar, with 360 degree coverage, could detect small objects in space,
and was linked to interceptor missiles.
PanARMENIAN.Net
May 24, 2012 - 13:02 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia's Defense Ministry is disappointed by the
lack of progress in talks with Azerbaijan over extending the lease
of the missile defense radar station in Azerbaijani town of Gabala, a
source in the ministry said on Thursday, May 24, RIA Novosti reported.
"The Russian military is disappointed by the non-constructive approach
from the Azerbaijani side concerning the talks on extending the lease
of the Gabala missile radar," the source said, adding that Moscow
would likely leave Gabala if the talks did not move ahead.
Russia has been negotiated with Azerbaijan to extend the lease of
the Soviet-era radar, which it has operated under a 2002 agreement
due to expire on December 24 this year.
The Russian Kommersant business daily reported in late February
that Azerbaijan had demanded Russia pay $300 million instead of the
previously agreed $7 million for the lease, which Russia is seeking
to extend until 2025.
The source in the Russian Defense Ministry also said that size of
the price increase was unreasonable, since the radar needed a full
renovation and the sum Baku was demanding for the lease was comparable
to the cost of constructing a new radar.
In 2007 Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested sharing Gabala
radar station with the United States, instead of deploying the NATO
missile defense shield in Czech Republic.
In early April, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said that
Yerevan was ready to provide a site on its territory for construction
of a new Russian radar station if Moscow failed to agree on extending
the Gabala with Azerbaijan.
On Wednesday Russia placed its new Voronezh-M long-range missile
warning radar on duty in the Irkutsk region of Siberia, marking a
major increase in its missile early warning system capability. The new
Voronezh-M station can detect ballistic targets up to 6000 kilometers
and cover an arc from India to the United States.
Moscow has been concerned by U.S. plans to expand missile the defense
shield in Europe, and announced in early May that it could introduce
its massive Don-2NP radar system near Moscow as part of an agreement
with NATO on a European missile defense plan to counter medium and
long-range missiles.
The Don-2 radar, known to U.S. arms control negotiators in the 1980's
as the "pyramid" and to NATO as Pill Box, was put into operation
around 1989, and was the centerpiece of the USSR's anti-missile
defense system. The 100-meter square, 45 meter high phased-array
radar, with 360 degree coverage, could detect small objects in space,
and was linked to interceptor missiles.