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Putin: U.S. deployment of missile defense system in Romania complicates situation around Russia

Xinhua, May 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

The deployment of U.S. Aegis Ashore missile defense system in Romania complicated the situations around Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"The latest developments suggest that the situation...unfortunately is being aggravated, considering the deployment of a radar station in Romania as an element of the U.S. missile defense shield system," Putin said in a Kremlin transcript.

At a meeting on Russia's defense, Putin said that in spite of the U.S. claims that the system was purely defensive, it was in fact part of the U.S. strategic nuclear potential moving to Eastern Europe.

Under the NATO plan to develop its ballistic missile defense capabilities, a U.S. Aegis Ashore missile defense system was activated in Romania on Thursday, while the construction of a second Aegis Ashore site began in Poland on Friday.

Putin noted that the launch areas in Romania and Poland may be used for deployment of short and medium range missiles, which not only presented additional threat to Russia but also could be the prologue of breaching Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

Warning of a new arms race, Putin vowed that Moscow would not be dragged in but would take responsive measures to any national security threat.

"Of course, on our part we will take all the necessary steps to ensure and maintain the strategic balance of forces, which is the most reliable guarantee to prevent the emergence of large-scale military conflicts," Putin said.

Meanwhile, Russia would proceed "accurately" with its plan for financing the modernization of the army and navy laid out several years ago, said Putin.

"But we will update these plans in order to stop emerging threats to the security of Russia," he added.

NATO on Thursday denied its air defense systems presented a threat to Russia.

"Geography and physics both make it impossible for the NATO system to shoot down Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles. The interceptors are too few in number, and either too far south or too close to Russia to do so," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on the alliance's website. Enditem