Russian military chief: U.S. talks stall

MOSCOW, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Negotiators made no new proposals on a missile shield during U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Moscow visit, Russia's military chief said Wednesday.

Gen. Yury Baluyevsky, chief of the general staff, said Russia rejects a U.S. offer to use radar sites at Gabala in Azerbaijan and Armavir in South Russia in addition to proposed sites in the Czech Republic and Poland, Novosti reported.

"As chief of the General Staff and an expert I see nothing new in these proposals," Baluyevsky said.

The United States has said its proposed missile shield components in Eastern Europe are needed to detect potential attacks from Iran or North Korea. But President Vladimir Putin urged U.S. officials to substitute sites in Russia and Central Asia instead.

Baluyevsky said movement on the missile shield may be impossible until the Iranian nuclear issue is settled, Itar-Tass reported.

"It seems to me that the Americans began listening to us. Still, everything is going on up to the proverb, 'The dogs bark, but the caravan goes on,'" Baluyevsky said.