Plans by the United States to build an anti-missile defence system in Central Europe pose a "threat" to Ukraine, the country's pro-Russian deputy prime minister Mykola Azarov said Monday. "It is a threat, especially for Ukraine," Azarov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying, referring to US plans to build an anti-missile shield in neighboring Poland and the Czech Republic.
He insisted that Kiev should react strongly to the situation, referring to the 1962 missile crisis between the US and Cuba.
"How would the Polish leaders react if, for instance, Russia offered and we accepted to install an anti-missile defence system on the Polish border? And how did the Americans react when the USSR placed its missiles in Cuba? That's how we should react," Azarov said.
He went on to accuse Poland of not taking into account his country's interests, insisting that Warsaw should have "at least consulted" Ukraine on the subject.
The United States last month confirmed plans to start talks with the Czech Republic and Poland to deploy an anti-missile defence system that it claimed would guard against potential attacks from Iran and North Korea.
The plans have provoked virulent protests from Moscow.
Source: Agence France-Presse
