Russia calls for suspension of US-Czech talks on radar base

Russian foreign affairs minister Sergey Lavrov has said the United States should suspend all discussions on building a missile defence system in Central Europe until a Russian proposal for cooperation with the US on dealing with missile threats is considered. Speaking after President George Bush had confirmed that Poland and the US were firmly behind a plan to build a rocket base in Poland as part of a missile defence shield that would also use a proposed Czech radar base, Mr Lavrov said that it was necessary to "freeze" the deployment of a missile defence system in Europe for a period of study and analysis as well as further negotiations on the issue. The Russian foreign minister was making his remarks two days after Moscow surprised many by offering to let the US use a Russian base in Azerbaijan for its missile defence shield in return for not building a facility in Europe.