RUSSIA’S foreign minister urged the United States on Saturday to freeze plans for missile defense installations in eastern Europe during negotiations and warned that the proposal could backfire.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments, reported by Russian news agencies, suggested the Kremlin is unhappy that the United States has continued discussions on its plans to deploy facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic following Russia’s counteroffer of joint use of a radar station in Azerbaijan.

Lavrov also warned that the U.S. missile defense plans could hamper efforts to ease international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program, RIA-Novosti reported.

Lavrov said there was no proof that Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but that the missile shield could further provoke the Iranian Government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has led Russia’s bitter objection to U.S. plans to deploy a missile-defense radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Poland, surprised U.S. President George W. Bush with the offer of joint use of the radar station in Azerbaijan, which borders Iran.

Meeting with Putin on Thursday during a G8 summit in Germany, Bush agreed to consider the proposal. Putin added clarity to his offer Friday by suggesting locations for missile interceptors if Azerbaijan were to be used for the radar element, saying they could be placed in Turkey or Iraq, or on sea platforms.

Meanwhile, Putin called yesterday for the creation of a new world economic order that gives greater clout to fast-growing emerging nations.

Days after attending the G8 summit in Germany, Putin suggested that club was outdated and failed to reflect a shift in economic power away from the industrialized West to countries like his own.(SD-Agencies)