Interview with Konstantin Kosachev

Poland has refused to station 10 interceptor missiles as part of a U.S. plan to deploy an ABM shield in Eastern Europe. The Head of Russia's State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachev, says this is not the final stage.

“The request from the Polish side, as far as I am informed, was $US 20 billion – in order to re-equip the Polish national defence system and the American side proposed $US 200 million – 100 times less than the Polish side requested. It is not enough for the Polish side so I believe it is more about the money rather than considerations how it will influence the global security climate in Europe,” pinpointed Kosachev.

“The basic approach of Russia is that we really face common challenges and threats and yes, we are concerned about Iran, we are concerned about North Korea, but we should try to develop a common universal security system and we have proposed several solutions for that, like using Russian radar stations and unfortunately it has been rejected by the US,” Kosachev said.