Four U.S. Republican senators - Jon Kyl, James Risch,
Mark Kirk and James Inhofe - have sent a letter to Secretary
of Defense Robert Gates asking him to consider Georgia
as a potential host for the TPY-2 missile defense radar.
"This is a new initiative so I can't say the Georgian
side has formulated a concrete position on the matter,"
Dzhalagania said.
"This initiative is interesting in and of itself
and it deserves attention from the point of view of regional
security and stability." The United States previously
invited Turkey to host a radar site but Ankara set a number
of conditions, including that an anti-missile shield should
be deployed in all the alliance's member states, not just
Turkey.
The senators have suggested that alternate sites be considered
and that Georgia's geographic location would make it an
ideal place for a radar targeting Iran.
