EON

Heiligendamm, German – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday made a surprise offer to share the use of a radar station in Azerbaijan with the United States.

He said, this would ensure better protection against a possible Iranian missile threat than US plans for a missile shield in Central Europe.

Putin, who met US President George W Bush at the Group of Eight (G8) summit in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, told reporters that Moscow and Washington could jointly operate the Gabala Radar Station in Azerbaijan which is currently rented out to Russia.

The Russian leader, standing next to Bush while speaking to correspondents, said he had cleared the offer with Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan.

If the proposal was accepted by Washington, Russia would not need to retarget Europe in response to the US plan to station elements of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, Putin added.

“This will make it unnecessary for us to place our offensive complexes along the borders with Europe,” said Putin.

He said that such an arrangement would provide security for all of Europe, rather than just parts of the continent.

Russia and the US had an “understanding about common threats” but also had differences on how to overcome them.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Russia was ready to “completely share” all technical data from the Gabala radar station with the US.

The solution offered by Putin would “lead to a substantial easing of tensions,” said Peskov, adding: “Our concerns will disappear.”

“We consider this to be a very important initiative that really contributes to an atmosphere of mutual trust and security and stability on our continent,” he underlined.

Peskov said the US needed more time to study the pros and cons of the Russian offer. “You would not expect any readiness to accept this immediately … it is too complicated and sensitive,” he said.

Bush did not respond to the offer but described his talks with Putin as “open and constructive.”

“We will continue to talk about missile defence in the coming weeks,” said Bush.

The US president told reporters he wanted a “constructive and strategic dialogue” with his Russian counterpart.

Earlier, Bush went out of his way to take a conciliatory stance on Russia, saying that the missile defence dispute with Moscow was not something “we ought to be hyperventilating about.”

The US leader insisted that the US missile defence system was aimed at so-called “rogue states” like Iran and North Korea. “Russia is not an enemy of the US,” he underlined.

US-Russia relations have deteriorated rapidly since Putin denounced US “unilateralism” in February this year.

Since then the Russian leader has vented his anger over the US missile defence plan and threatened to withdraw from a key European security pact.

Putin sent alarm bells ringing this week by saying Russia would retarget Europe in retaliation over the missile defence shield.

Washington and Moscow also disagree over a United Nations plan for internationally-supervised independence for the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo.

The two leaders are set to meet for two days of talks beginning July 1 in Kennebunkport, Maine, at the Bush family’s oceanfront home.