U.S. could threaten Russian strategic nuclear forces
RIA Novost
September 1, 2011
The United States continues to refuse to guarantee that the European missile defense shield will not be directed at Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
“They don’t want to give us a guarantee that the U.S.-NATO [European] missile defense shield will not be directed at Russia,” Lavrov [Russian Foreighn Minister] said during an address to students and professors at the Moscow State University for International Relations.
Lavrov said that in July 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed on joint efforts in establishing an anti-missile defense system by first starting with a general analysis of challenges and threats.
“We added concrete proposals to the parameters for such a system and there were long consultations through bilateral talks and within the Russia-NATO Council. Unfortunately, we have not come to an agreement; however, a European missile defense shield is currently being created according to the parameters that Washington has defined and could create a threat to Russia’s strategic nuclear forces,” Lavrov said.
“Military experts understand completely that the unlimited expansion by one party’s anti-missile defense capabilities requires the other party to take equal actions in order to protect its strategic restraint potential,” he added. …
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