WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. officials in Washington are trying to convince Russian officials that a proposed missile defense system in Eastern Europe is aimed at Iran, not Russia.
The New York Times reported that U.S. officials were taken aback by Moscow's response to proposed plans to place parts of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in the Times "that there is no way" that the interceptors and radar "are a threat to Russia or that they are somehow going to diminish Russia's deterrent of thousands of warheads."
Russian missile commander Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov has threatened to target missiles toward countries that cooperate with the U.S. defense plan.
"If the government of Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries make this decision -- and I think mutual consultations that have been held and will be held will allow avoiding this -- the strategic missile troops will be able to have those facilities as targets," he said in the Times article. "Consequences in case of hostilities will be very grave for both sides."
