US reacts to reports of Russia deploying missiles in its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, with an plea not to "destabilize the region", said State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Marie Harf on Tuesday.
The deployment of the Iskander missiles, which have a range of hundreds of kilometers has caused alarm in Poland and the Baltic states, which are wary of Russian military movements after decades of dominance by the Soviet Union. Their alarm was aggravated by tension between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
Harf added that the "US has also passed on to Moscow its neighbours' concerns."
Defence Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov had said on Monday about the Russia's deployment that "does not violate any international treaties or agreements".
aa.com.tr
17/12/13
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Frappe planétaire US: conséquences potentiellement apocalyptiques (Moscou)....
US Global Strike Programme could lead to world war...
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NATO Members Alarmed by Russian Nuclear Missile Deployment...
ReplyDeleteMOSCOW, December 17 (RIA Novosti) – Western officials have reacted with alarm at Russia’s deployment of tactical missiles on areas bordering NATO members states, describing it as a potentially destabilizing move.
Russian officials have confirmed that missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads have been moved to the Western Military District – a territory that abuts all three Baltic States and Poland – in a measure that marks an escalation in Moscow’s campaign to dissuade a US-backed missile shield program in Central Europe.
US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a briefing on Monday that Washington “urged Moscow to take no steps to destabilize the region.”
Russian’s Defense Ministry has defended the deployment, saying that it violated no international agreements. Russia has not revealed the number and exact location of the missiles, and it remains unclear how long they have been in the region.
The 4-ton mobile Iskander-M missiles in question are designed to carry nuclear warheads and have a range of 400 kilometer (250 miles) and fly in a quasi-ballistic trajectory to confuse missile defense systems.
The Associated Press cited US General Philip Breedlove, the head NATO commander in Europe, as saying Tuesday that such a move would demonstrate the need for improved communication between Russia and NATO.
On Tuesday, Latvia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was “alarmed at Russia’s steps and considers [its] actions unjustified.”
Mindaugas Zickus, a foreign policy advisor to the Lithuanian President, told a local radio station on Tuesday that the missile deployment illustrated duplicity on Russia’s part.
“Russia’s declared support for closer dialogue and strategic cooperation with the European Union and NATO is incompatible with such actions,” Zickus said.
In 2011, then-president Dmitry Medvedev announced a set of measures that Russia would employ to counter a proposed US-led missile defense system in Europe that included the construction of radar systems for air defense and stationing nuclear-equipped Iskander missiles in the region.
The United States insists the missile shield is aimed at defending its allies from emerging-threat states Iran and North Korea.
Analysts consider high-speed, short-range nuclear missiles destabilizing as they drastically shorten the time between a missile launch and nuclear detonation increasing the risk of a preemptive strike.
Russian defense officials said last week that the recently struck deal with Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions negates the need for the missile shield plans. The US Defense Secretary said on Monday that missile defense system would go forward as planned and was not connected to the Iran deal.
http://en.ria.ru/world/20131217/185654740/NATO-Members-Alarmed-by-Russian-Nuclear-Missile-Deployment.html
17/12/13
Russian Iskanders show true colors of the United States...
ReplyDeleteU.S. officials have expressed their "concern" with the deployment of tactical missile complex Iskander-M in the Kaliningrad enclave, which, in their opinion, may destabilize the situation in the region. However, Russia has not officially confirmed the information. We can only guess why German newspaper Bild has leaked the information.
On Sunday, German newspaper Bild, citing satellite imagery, said that Moscow has placed missile complexes Iskander-M in Kaliningrad, and now their quantity has reached a two-digit number. The newspaper reported that the entire territory of Poland and Berlin were in the missiles range. Reactions followed on Monday, first from the Baltic countries and Poland. "The new modernization in Kaliningrad, near the border with the Baltic countries and NATO, is causing additional concern and attention. Therefore, we will monitor the situation," said the Minister of National Defense of Lithuania Juozas Olekas. Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the deployment of missiles a "disturbing" factor.
Later Marie Harf, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, urged Moscow not to make steps to destabilize the region. The intended sensation was not a revelation for Chuck Hagel who is on an official visit to Moscow. The representative of the United States delegation said that the issue was not on the agenda for the talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. Indeed, the U.S. military are well aware of the cause for the Russian Federation's concern. The U.S. missile defense in Europe is part of the U.S. missile defense system designed to intercept Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in the fourth phase of modernization (after 2021) that may be directed at the United States in the event of a retaliatory nuclear strike.
Back in 2010, the Americans refused to provide a written legal guarantee that their missile defense in Europe would not be directed against Russia. In 2011, then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia would install Iskander-M system in the Kaliningrad Region and Krasnodar Territory "to ensure the elimination of the European component of the U.S. missile defense system." This was an asymmetrical response of the Russian Federation to the deployment of the American missile defense system in Europe................http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/18-12-2013/126418-russia_iskander_usa-0/
18/12/13