Russia does not regard Iran as a threat, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Tehran Wednesday, according to dpa. Lavrov was replying to a question on whether Russia would go ahead with its plan to use a radar station in Azerbaijan to ensure better protection against a possible Iranian missile threat. The Russian official, who was in Tehran to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of Caspian Sea countries, said through an interpreter that US allegations in this regard were solely for justifying the launch of a missile shield in Europe. The United States are planning to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic as part of an anti- ballistic missile shield system against Iranian threats. During the G8 summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a surprise offer to share the use of a radar station in Azerbaijan with the US. Putin said this would ensure better protection against a possible Iranian missile threat than US plans for a missile shield in Central Europe.
