Kaliningrad gambit

A high-ranking Russian official has said that the country could place missiles in the Kaliningrad Oblast - which directly borders Poland - if the US does not agree to Russia's compromise proposals for a missile shield in Europe. Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who is widely tipped as a potential successor to President Vladimir Putin when his term expires next year, made the suggestion earlier this month during a trip to Uzbekistan.

"If our proposals are accepted, the need will disappear for Russia to deploy new missile weapons in the European part of the country, including in the Kaliningrad region," Interfax news agency quoted Ivanov as saying. Ivanov, who is in overall charge of Russia's defense sector, did not elaborate on the statement.

At this month's so-called "Lobster Summit" with US President George W Bush in Kennebunkport Maine, President Putin proposed an expanded plan for missile-defense cooperation which would include a data-sharing agreement between NATO and Russia concerning missile launches from rogue states. Earlier, Putin had suggested placing elements of the system in Azerbaijan, instead of the Czech Republic and Poland, according to US plans.

Bush said he would examine the Russian proposals, calling them "very innovative." However, he insisted the anti-missile shield must still be based in Central Europe. Washington contends the shield is needed to defend against possible missile attacks from states such as North Korea and Iran.

The Kaliningrad Oblast is not connected by land to the rest of Russia, and the city of Kaliningrad is much nearer to Warsaw than it is to Moscow. The Kremlin has said it would aim missiles at European countries if the US missile shield, which it considers a threat, goes ahead.

However Russian defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer was quoted by BBC News as calling Ivanov's suggestion an "empty threat," saying Russia did not have missiles with the proper range for hitting the proposed interceptor base in Poland.

"It's a threat aimed at the Polish people," designed to encourage them to protest against the US plans, Felgenhauer was quoted as saying. (Reuters)