Turkish, Russian ministers discuss proposals on air defense system

Serdyukov submitted Russia's proposal on the air defense systems to Turkey’s defense minister, Vecdi Gonul, hurriyet.com.tr reported Wednesday. The two ministers had met in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Tuesday. Â

 

Israel and the United States have already declared their desire to establish a one-billion-dollar missile system in Turkey.Â

 

Serdyukov, who was in NATO member Turkey to discuss military cooperation, repeated that Moscow remained opposed to U.S. plans to deploy a radar in Poland and interceptor missiles in the Czech Republic as part of a proposed missile defense shield.

Washington says the plan is intended to defend against possible attacks from Iran, but Russia sees the project as a threat to its security.

"Efforts to build air defenses in Poland and in the Czech Republic has awakened concerns and this is causing Russia to take similar initiatives," he told a joint press conference with Gonul in Ankara.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier this month announced plans to deploy missiles near NATO's borders to neutralize the missile shield installations.

But on Saturday Medvedev said he was ready for compromise and promised to hold off on a possible military response to the project.