“It is purely defensive”.
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However, Russia claims the defence station in Romania is a security threat to its territory but North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and USA officials maintain that the move will only serve as a protective shield for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Thursday’s ceremony formally certifies the site for operations.
Russian officials sounded off against a newly activated US missile defense site in Romania, calling it a threat to Russia and European stability in general.
“It is part of the military and political containment of Russia”, Andrey Kelin, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official, reportedly said Thursday, adding that the move by the US -led alliance will further deteriorate ties between Moscow and Washington. The system’s activation is likely to further strain relations between the West and Russian Federation. Officials at Thursday’s ceremony repeatedly tried to defuse Russian concerns.
But a deputy United States defense secretary, Robert Work, reiterated Thursday there are “no plans at all” to strengthen this missile umbrella to protect against Russian Federation.
Russian Federation has opposed America’s plans to deploy antimissile systems close to its borders for decades.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow was already taking measures for “securing the necessary level of security in Russia”, and Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova raised the tone saying: “We continue to regard the destructive activities of the United States of America and its allies in the area of missile defense as a direct threat to global and regional security”.
Last fall, Russian security officials appeared to drop hints of another military response to the missile-defense system: a nuclear-armed drone submarine.
The first Aegis Ashore site in Europe, based on proven Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) technology, is now actively monitoring the skies of southern Europe for ballistic mISSile threats.
“This is not about Russian Federation”. Its integration into NATO’s ballistic missile defense capability is proceeding as scheduled, and the deadline is related to the July NATO Summit in Warsaw. He says Moscow is concerned about the developments in the future that could create “a potential for first-strike” capability for the US.
The system at Deveselu has three batteries with 24 SM-3 intercepting missiles capable of destroying long- and medium-range ballistic missiles, and a radar to guide the missiles. The missiles are located miles away. Horse-pulled carriages remain a common sight in the region. Other components include four Navy guided-missile destroyers based in Rota, Spain; an early warning radar system in Turkey; and a command center at the U.S. Air Force base in Ramstein, Germany. The United States on Friday planned to break ground on a second site, in Poland, that is expected to be completed in 2018.
Alliance and US officials insist that European missile defense is not technically capable of knocking down a barrage of Russian missiles.
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“It is legitimate for any country to allocate its resources to defend itself”, he said.
