MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) - The speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house said Saturday the United States could give up its plans to deploy a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov told Ekho Moskvy radio he has reasons to believe that "ultimately, this thoughtless and very dangerous step will not be made - there will be neither radar nor missiles."
U.S. President Barack Obama has shown less interest in his predecessor's plans to open a missile interceptor base in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic, which Moscow has fiercely opposed as a security threat.
Obama has not yet announced a final decision on whether to move ahead with the deployment. The George W. Bush administration had said the missile defense shield elements were to counter possible strikes from "rogue" states, and not aimed against Russia.
