KIEV - A senior Kiev official attacked US plans to set up an anti-missile defence system in Eastern Europe, saying they posed a ‘threat to Ukraine,’ the Interfax news agency reported Monday.| "Yes sir, Mr. Putin, right away!" |
The anti-missile defence systems Washington wants to emplace in the Czech Republic and Poland undermined Ukrainian national security, he argued. ‘If the system is set up, then those installations will become targets (for opponents of the US),’ Azarov said. ‘We are neighbours...and we cannot look quietly on the increased possibility of violent attacks next door.’
| You could end up real unhappy as well if an Iranian IRBM aimed at the French fell short. |
Azarov was the first senior Ukrainian official to criticize the US missile plan openly. Ukrainian officials in previous weeks had taken non-commital positions on the matter, usually saying whether or not the system should be built was a matter between Prague, Warsaw, and Washington.
Ukrainians generally are wary of NATO, pointing to NATO operations in Serbia and Afghanistan as proof the alliance is not defensive, and that US political need decides NATOÂ’s actions. NATO officials have said Ukrainians are poorly informed about the organization.