European Missile Shield

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European Missile Shield

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday said that his country may deploy “advanced offensive weapon systems” on its border with Europe as a response to the U.S. missile shield deployed in Eastern Europe. Medvedev spoke of a series of “appropriate measures,” if the negotiations with the United States on missile defense do not have a positive outcome.
Russia wants written, legal guarantees that the missiles will not be directed against it, while the United States refuses to give any such guarantees, restating though that the shield is not directed against Russia, but against radical states like Iran.
In a broadcast on national television, Medvedev said that the U.S. and NATO did not take Russian concerns into account. Unless a progress is being made to address this Russian concern, Medvedev said, Russia will deploy to the west and south of the country advanced offensive weapon systems which will target the European components of the missile defense network.
The European components of the shield are placed in Poland and Romania, two former Communist countries with which Moscow has been keeping tense relations since the fall of the Soviet in the 1990s.
Medvedev also spoke about the placing of an early warning radar in the exclave of Kaliningrad and the increased protection of the nuclear assets in the country.
The presidential comments come before the NATO summit in Brussels on December 7-8. Russia and NATO attempted an agreement on the European security last year, during the NATO summit in Lisbon, Portugal, but the arrangement never became operational due to disagreements on various aspects.
Medvedev restated the proposal that Russia and NATO create a joint defense system that would encompass the entire European continent. Russia said that it would not engage in any project that goes against its national interests.
Medvedev said Russia would not engage in a project such as the European missile shield which would weaken its deterrent potential in a few years.
If talks on the European missile shield do not progress in a desired manner, Russia alludes to the possibility of pulling out of the arms reduction treaties agreed with the United States.
Medvedev said that because of the link between offensive and defensive weapons, Russia could have reasons, if the missile shield continues to develop in Eastern Europe, to withdraw from the START treaty.
The shield has prevented ties between the formers Cold War foes and has increased the Russian concern over the situation after the American elections in November 2012. The president said there was still time to reach an agreement if Russian concerns were treated with honesty. He did add that Russia would monitor the situation and would react accordingly to every stage of the shield implementation.
NATO secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that the plan to deploy advanced weapon systems pointing at the European missile shield was “very disappointing,” and added that NATO would continue to cooperate with Russia in hopes to reach an understanding on the European shield.
Rasmussen reminded that last year Russia was invited by NATO heads of government to discuss defense issues, and added that the offer still stands. The deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department also reiterated his country’s commitment to work “productively and constructively” with Russia on missile defense issues.
As for the withdrawal from the START treaty, the American spokesman said that there was no reason for Russia to threaten with that, adding that there are progresses in that respect.

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