"Experts from the General Staff, the Space Forces Staff and the Foreign Ministry will take part in the consultations from Russia. The delegation will comprise seven or eight people," Vasily Istratov told journalists.
The United States said in January it was planning to locate components of its global antimissile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland to prevent possible strikes from "rogue states," such as Iran and North Korea.
But Russia, already unnerved by NATO expansion to former Warsaw Pact member states, has condemned the plans as a threat to national security and a destabilizing factor for Europe. Moscow warned that its response would be adequate and highly effective.
At the G8 summit in June, President Vladimir Putin offered the U.S. the use of the Gabala radar as a compromise solution in the ongoing dispute. The radar, located near the town of Minchegaur, 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital Baku, was leased to Russia for 10 years in 2002.
The radar has been operational since early 1985. With a range of 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles), it is the most powerful in the region and can detect any missile launches in Asia, the Middle East and parts of Africa.
