Speaking in Baku, the U.S. Ambassador Richard Morningstar announced on December 19, 2012 that the United States has no interest in utilizing the Gabala radar, either as part of its missile defense program or for any other purpose.

In that respect, the American official noted that it was the task for Azerbaijan’s government to decide what the best application for the Gabala radar station should be.

Earlier, Russian military officials made an announcement that Russia was to stop using the Gabala radar station on December 10. The Russian military leased the Gabala installation from Azerbaijan under a 10-year lease contract.

The radar station at Gabala was an element of the Soviet missile attack warning system. The station, situated near the town of Gabala, Azerbaijan, was one of the nine Soviet Union’s missile attack stations. After the disintegration of the U.S.S.R., Azerbaijan received the Gabala radar station as part of its territory. Up to December of 2012, Russia leased the radar station from Azerbaijan.