Russia NATO envoy to visit Iran

Russia’s Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin has announced plans to visit Iran to discuss the deployment of the US-backed missile system around Europe.

Rogozin described the objective of his visit as offering information to Iran on negotiations about the missile system.

“We, in turn, are interested in getting clarification from the Iranian side over its plans to develop missiles,” Ria Novosti quoted Rogozin as saying.

“I hope this mission to Tehran will be a fruitful one,” the Russian envoy added.

In September 2010, Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Anders Fogh Rasmussen proposed to develop a 200-million-euro (253-million-dollar) US-backed missile system around Europe against possible attacks by “rogue states.”

The NATO chief then named Iran’s nuclear program as one of the reasons that justify the necessity of a missile system.

Turkey objected to the alliance singling out Iran as a “rogue state”.

“We do not perceive any threat from any neighbor countries and we do not think our neighbors form a threat to NATO,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in October.

Following Turkey’s objections, Rasmussen said in November that the final plans of the missile system) need not mention the names of any particular country.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that negotiations over NATO’s missile system had reached “their final stages.”

“It is anticipated that the early warning radar system allocated by the US for NATO will be deployed in our country,” the statement added.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated following his May talks with US President Barack Obama that an ultimate solution to the long-running row over missile system may not come until after 2020.