Russia still worried by U.S. missile defense plan - chief of staff

PSKOV, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow views the U.S. missile defense program in Central Europe as anti-Russian, but has sufficient capability to counter it, a top military official said Wednesday.

The United States said in January it was planning to deploy components of its global missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland to avert possible strikes from "rogue states," such as Iran and North Korea.

"The missile defense system that is being deployed in Europe is clearly aimed against Russia. I am ready to prove that with facts and figures," said Army Gen. Yury Baluyevsky, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

He said the U.S. claims the system is directed against the Iranian threat, but that deploying radars and interceptor missiles in the Czech Republic and Poland makes no sense in this case.

"If we accept American logic, Iran will produce missiles within the next five or seven years, but what will the radar stations be doing there in the meantime? What will their functions be? The answer is obvious: [the U.S.] is only interested in Russia's capability," he said.

Gen. Baluyevsky said the Russian military has everything that is required to ensure national security, adding that the Armed Forces will be downsized, becoming leaner but meaner.

Russia, already unnerved by NATO expansion to former Warsaw Pact member states, has condemned the U.S. plans as a threat to national security and a destabilizing factor for Europe. Moscow warned that its response would be commensurate and effective.

Gen. Baluyevsky said previously the decision to go ahead with the deployment of U.S. missile defense elements in the Czech Republic and Poland is a big mistake, in particular urging Prague to delay the decision until after presidential elections in the United States, set for November 2008.

He said Washington might review Iran's missile threat, which was one of the reasons for its decision to deploy missile defense elements in Europe.

"We believe that, based on realistic assessments of threats from the south, additional measures may be implemented on the deployment of additional missile defense elements in Europe, and we will stand firm on this position," he said.