Russia scraps European missiles plan

Russia on Wednesday announced it was abandoning plans to deploy nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in its European Kaliningrad outpost — a sign that Moscow wants improved relations with the new US administration.

Defence officials said the Kremlin’s proposals to station short-range missiles in the small Baltic territory next to Poland had been “suspended”.

The move followed Barack Obama’s decision to review the Pentagon’s controversial missile defence shield in central Europe. The Kremlin has been incensed by the Bush administration’s plans to site missile interceptors and radar bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. Moscow believes the plan upsets Europe’s strategic nuclear balance and targets Russia, but the Bush administration insisted it was intended to defend against a threat from Iran. Obama has not yet decided whether to press ahead with the scheme or to abandon it, although indications suggest he is sceptical about its value.

Russian move can be interpreted as a Kremlin olive branch to the new US team and a tactic to put pressure on Obama to scrap the shield.

“These plans have been suspended as the new US administration is not pushing ahead with plans to deploy the US missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic,” an official said. “Russia does not need to deploy Iskanders in the Kaliningrad region if the US does not install its missile defence facilities in eastern Europe.”