By DPA
Tehran : Tehran has received signals that Russia would drop its plan to share the use of the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan with the US to ensure better protection against a possible Iranian missile threat, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said Sunday.
The spokesman told reporters in Tehran that in meetings with the ambassadors of Russia and Azerbaijan there have been signals that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not allow the plan to be implemented for avoiding further regional instability.
Hosseini had earlier played down the initiative by Putin and said that for Moscow an Iranian missile threat would not exist.
Iran's National Security Adviser Ali Larijani had described as the "joke of the year" the United States missile shield project for safeguarding Europe against Iranian missiles. It said Iranian missiles could not reach Europe and that it would be absurd for Tehran to target its most important political and trade partners.
Despite several political and technical problems, including constant delays in completing a joint nuclear plant in southern Iran, Tehran considers Russia as a strategic partner and has no intention to endanger bilateral ties, said Hosseini.