Russia wants its military officers to be present at all times at the planned US missile sites in Poland and the Czech Republic to make sure Russia is not a target, the Russian foreign minister said Tuesday.

Sergey Lavrov warned that if Poland and the Czech Republic resisted the demand, they could “devaluate” the latest US proposals intended to ease Russia’s concerns about the missile base.

“We are mostly interested in two things: permanent presence of our officers and reliable means of technical control” to make sure that a battery of 10 US missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic are not directed at Russia, Lavrov said.

He added that Polish and Czech officials had indicated they “don’t even want to hear about a permanent Russian presence.”
Lavrov said the United States had suggested that military officers could be deployed at Russian embassies in Poland and the Czech Republic and visit the sites occasionally on the basis of reciprocity.

He said that would not be enough to ease Moscow’s concerns and scoffed at a push to visit Russian sites in response.

IRNA