Georgia says no US request for missile shield radar

WASHINGTON (Itar-Tass) - Georgia's Foreign Minister
Grigol Vashadze who met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday
said he had not received any official request to deploy a missile shield
radar in his country.
"There was no official request to us," he told Tass on Thursday.
"I hope you do not expect me to tell you what the (Obama)
administration thinks about it. As for Georgia, we stand for any
cooperation with the United States, including in the military sphere.
There was no official request to us. We shall talk when it comes," he
specified.
Vashadze said major developments are in store for US-Georgian
relations this year, but did not elaborate.
A group of US Senators has recently called on the Pentagon to deploy
the missile shield radar against Iran not in Turkey, but in Georgia as it
has a better geographical location.
So far there was no reaction from the US administration.
As for the next round of talks with Russia on Abkhazia and South
Ossetia due in Geneva next month, Vashadze said he did not expect any
major progress.
"Unfortunately, I do not expect anything specific from that round of
talks," he said, adding Russia would continue to insist that Georgia signs
agreements on the non-use of force with the two former provinces which
declared independence after the 2008 aggression. Instead Georgia wants to
negotiate non-use of force with Russia rather than with the two newly
independent countries.
"Georgia has exhausted the possibility to advance any initiatives. On
November 23 we have taken on a legal obligation in the European parliament
not to use force. Now Moscow has to take the same international legal
obligation," he said.
As for talks with Clinton, the minister said he discussed bilateral
cooperation, stability and security in the Caucasus, as well as
interaction in the NATO framework and cooperation in Afghanistan