Russia says to sign air defense pact with Belarus

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will sign a deal later this year on creating a joint air defense system with Belarus, an ex-Soviet ally which has joined Moscow in opposing the U.S. defense shield, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Russian defense officials in the past have discussed the possibility of stationing anti-missile systems on Belarus soil to counter the U.S. shield.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko met for talks on Tuesday in the southern Russian city of Sochi, where Medvedev has his official summer residence.

A statement on the Kremlin's Internet site www.kremlin.ru said the two leaders discussed preparations for a high-level Russian-Belarus summit in Moscow in the third quarter of this year.

"D. Medvedev and A. Lukashenko agreed by that meeting to complete work on an inter-state agreement on the creation of a single air-defense system, which will be signed during the meeting," the Kremlin statement said.

The United States plans to station a radar station and interceptor missiles on the territory of Poland and the Czech Republic as part of the shield. Belarus, a staunch Russian ally, has a border with Poland.

It says the shield is needed to counter missile attacks by what it calls rogue states, specifically Iran.

Russia says the U.S. plan is a threat to its national security and has warned it may aim its nuclear missiles at Poland and the Czech Republic if they host elements of the shield on their soil.