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Moscow says US missile shield aimed at Russia
[Al Arabiya Latest] Russia's top general said on Tuesday that U.S. missile defense plans were directed against his country, and differences over the issue were holding up an arms treaty with Washington, Russian news agencies reported."The development and deployment of missile defenses is aimed against the Russia Federation," General Nikolai Makarov, chief of staff of the Russian armed forces, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. "The development of these missile defense systems without question weakens our potential nuclear deterrent." The renewed blast from Moscow raised questions about the chances of an early agreement on a successor to a Cold War-era nuclear arms reduction treaty that expired in December. A U.S. defense official rejected his comment. Washington has insisted its plans for a limited missile defense are intended to intercept a small number of warheads that might be fired by a "rogue state" such as Iran or North Korea. U.S. President Barack Obama pleased Russia by scrapping the previous administration's plans to deploy elements of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, which was bitterly opposed by Moscow. But Makarov said Russia still had serious concerns about Obama's revised plans, which are based on sea- and land-based missile interceptors in Europe, despite U.S. insistence that they are no threat to Russia. "Despite the declarations of those statesmen who say that, on the contrary, it provides for our security, that's far from the case," state-run RIA news agency quoted him as saying. "For this reason it's completely understandable that we have a very negative attitude about this issue," Makarov added. Posted by: Fred 2010-02-10 |
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