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Russia to share radar station information if let into European missile defence

The implementation of a joint programme on missile defence should be mutually advantageous

BRUSSELS, January 18 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia is ready to share information from early warning stations in Armavir and Gabala but only if it is allowed to participate in the European missile defence system, chief of the Russian Army General Staff, General of the Army Nikolai Makarov said.

“The radar stations in Gabala and Armavir have different capabilities. The radar station in Armavir is more up-to-date, but at any rate they duplicate each other. If they work jointly with the greater European missile defence system, this will reduce the cost of such system,” Makarov said after a Russia-NATO Council meeting at the level of chiefs of the General Staff on Wednesday, January 18.

“These radar stations ... can timely and effectively control missile launches in a given sector. We agree to share data from these stations but only if the question of Russia’s participation in the European missile defence system is solved. The implementation of these plans will also be dovetailed to our assessments of the enhancement of anti-Russian capabilities of the missile defence system in Europe,” the general said.

“The implementation of a joint programme on missile defence should be mutually advantageous. As for the joint use of the stations, they complement each other and will operate in the overall context of the Russian early warning system,” Makarov said.