Russia calls on US to halt missile deployment

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday urged the United States on Saturday to halt moves to deploy missile defense facilities in Europe pending negotiations on the issue, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Lavrov's remark suggested Moscow 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.