HEILIGENDAMM - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the United States should think about locating anti-missile interceptors in NATO member Turkey or even in Iraq.
"You could put them in the south," Putin told journalists. "I'm talking hypothetically, but this could be allies of the United States in NATO. Let's say Turkey, or even Iraq."
Concerning war-torn Iraq, Putin added: "One must ask, what did you fight for? You must get at least something out of it."
Russia has long opposed a US plan to put an anti-missile system consisting of a radar and interceptor rockets in Poland and the Czech Republic.
On Thursday Putin surprised Washington by proposing the use of a Russian-leased radar in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan as a solution.
There had been no detail on where the interceptors, which would shoot down missiles tracked by the radar, might be located under such a plan.
The United States says the system is needed to guard against future threats from Iran and North Korea, but Moscow has always said it fears the system is aimed at harming its own nuclear missile force.
Washington calls Putin's idea about using the Azerbaijan radar interesting, but has yet to give a detailed reply to the proposal.
06/08/2007 16:08 GMT