Putin Ready To Share Radar Info With U.S.
HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (Reuters) - Russia is ready to share information from a radar station it controls in Azerbaijan with the U.S. military, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
"Qabala completely covers the whole region that worries the Americans," Putin told a news conference at the end of a G8 summit, referring to the radar station. "We are ready on-line and in real-time to hand over all information."
Putin proposed to President George W. Bush on Thursday that Washington use the Russian-controlled Qabala radar instead of deploying parts of a missile shield in central Europe meant to ward of the threat of attack from "rogue" states like Iran.
The offer appeared to catch U.S. officials off-guard and they have given no indications they will revise their plans to put parts of the shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Moscow sees the U.S. plans as a threat to their security and unacceptable encroachment on its former sphere of influence.
I think the key phrase in this article, and one that explains why the Russians are having fits over the planned missile defense shield is:
...unacceptable encroachment on its former sphere of influence.
I've said from the very beginning that is not about a missile defense shield, it's about European countries looking to partner with the United States for their needs.
Russia is reverting back to a communist state, and with a U.S. presence in it's neighboring countries, it will become difficult for them to spread their ideology.
