5 March 2014
Kiev dismisses Ukraine-US missile defence
Business Standard

The Ukrainian foreign ministry Wednesday dismissed reports that Kiev is in talks with the US over a possible deployment of missile defence systems in Ukraine.

"There are no negotiations on this issue and there isn't any hint regarding it," foreign ministry spokesman Eugene Perebiynis told Ukrainian news agency Interfax, reports Xinhua.

Perebiynis also said that Kiev and Washington were in talks on possible financial aid to Ukraine.

But local media, citing Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus Mykhailo Yezhel, reported that missile systems were also part of the discussions along with the aid talks.

Yezhel served as Ukrainian defence minister from 2010 to 2012 under the leadership of the ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.