Russia and the United States have failed to bridge their differences on the proposed U.S. missile defense system in central Europe after two rounds of talks, a senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday.
"Two rounds of consultations have been held, but I cannot say that our positions have been made closer," the Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak as saying.
A group of U.S. experts Tuesday visited a Russian-leased radar station in Gabala, Azerbaijan, which Moscow has offered for joint use with Washington to replace its plans to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic.
Washington, however, has not agreed to the proposal put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin to his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush at the Group of Eight summit in June.
"The Russian president's proposal is aimed not at incorporating (the Gabala radar) into the U.S. global missile defense system but at building a multilateral format of monitoring the proliferation of missile technology," Kislyak said.
Russia strongly opposes U.S. plans to build the missile defense system in central Europe, saying it is a direct threat to its security and will break the strategic balance in the region.
Source: Xinhua
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