Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering III, director of the U.S. missile defense program, said March 1 that the U.S. would like to place elements of its missile defense system in the South Caucasus, but did not specify which of the three former Soviet countries it would choose - Armenia, Azerbaijan or Georgia, with the latter being anxious to join NATO.
The statement echoed U.S. plans revealed in January to deploy elements of its missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland as a counter to possible attacks from Iran or North Korea, whose nuclear programs have provoked serious international concerns.
Russia, which has been anxious about NATO bases that have appeared in former Communist-bloc countries and ex-Soviet republics, has blasted the plans to deploy anti-missile systems in Central Europe as a national security threat and a destabilizing factor for Europe.
Moscow said it will have to develop an adequate response to the possible missile shield deployment in the Caucasus.
But Jonathan Henik, public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, reaffirmed Tuesday that the U.S. had not been considering placing elements of its missile defense system in the South Caucasus.
Azerbaijan also said Washington had not yet approached it with any proposals.
The Russia-NATO Council is expected to consider the U.S. missile defense plans April 19, diplomatic sources in Brussels said in March.
