The commander of U.S. European Command and NATO supreme allied commander Admiral James Stavridis testified before Congress on Tuesday, and said the U.S. was amenable to cooperating with Russia on missile defense:
'First, it would create a zone of cooperation with Russia [from a military standpoint]; secondly, it could technically add to the early warning time because of the location of the system; and thirdly, it creates confidence-building measures between ourselves and the Russians,' the admiral said.
News.az quotes an Azerbaijan analyst as saying that represents a "serious change" in the US position:
The head of the Institute of Political and Military Analysis, Anatoly Tsyganok, said that the proposal to use the radar could be considered a serious change in Washington's position, 'which first claimed that the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan does not meet the necessary technical requirements'.
Stavridis didn't specifically address the capability of the Gabala radar in his testimony, and other officials have in the past spoken in similar general, favorable terms about this. So I don't know how serious a change this is. But it bears watching.
Joshua Kucera, a senior correspondent, is Eurasianet's former Turkey/Caucasus editor and has written for the site since 2007.
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