BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

15/11/2008

Belarus to Hold Talks With Russia on Joint Air Defense System

By Yuriy Humber

Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Russia and Belarus will hold talks on setting up a joint air-defense system to protect their borders, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko said he signed a decree authorizing Belarus Defense Minister Leonid Maltsev to enter into negotiations with Moscow, according to a statement on the presidential Web site.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said last week the nation would deploy short-range Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, a Russian region between Poland and Lithuania and north of Belarus, as a ``proportionate'' response to the ``unilateral'' missile-shield project of the U.S.

Russia has warned that the proposed shield, which Washington says is necessary to protect against attack by rogue states such as Iran, would threaten its security.

Medvedev urged U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on Nov. 13 to reconsider plans for the shield, saying Russia was ready to drop its retaliatory measures in response.

Obama's office on Nov. 8 said he had made ``no commitment'' to the planned missile-defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Source:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601095&sid=aRWh1gh_PVkQ

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