Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the USA plan was initially explained as targeting a possible missile threat from Iran.
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Earlier in the day, inaugural ceremony in southern Romanian settlement of Deveselu marked the operational certification of the Aegis Ashore missile defense system. His comments came as President Vladimir Putin said Russian Federation will further promote the development of military enterprises, with the focus on production and technical innovation capacity of new weapons. “The Iranians are increasing their capabilities and we have to be ahead of that”.
After over a decade of talk and untold billions in spending, the first of the USA missile defense shield in Europe is to be activated in Romania, providing anti-missile capabilities above and beyond those deployed overseas ships in the Mediterranean.
The readying of the shield also comes as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation prepares a new deterrent in Poland and the Baltics, following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Rose acted as the lead U.S. negotiator for missile defence base agreements in Romania, Poland and Turkey.
The U.S. has argued that missile proliferation is a growing threat despite the deal reached with Iran.
He, however, insisted that the system was aimed against general threats, dismissing a perception that it was targeted towards Russian Federation.
At a cost of billions of dollars, the missile defense umbrella relies on radars to detect a ballistic missile launch into space.
“We are open to dialogue, but our only condition is that the dialogue should be mutually respectful and take into account each other’s interests”, the ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a weekly briefing.
A special ceremony confirming the operational readiness of the United States ground-based missile defense system Aegis was held at the military base in Deveselu, Olt county, in southern Romania on Thursday.
The United States will also start construction on a second site in Poland on May 13 that is due to be completed in 2018.
The base marks the first time the Navy has installed its Aegis weapon system – an advanced missile-tracking and guidance system routinely built into Navy warships – onto a ground site. Denmark is upgrading at least one frigate to house a ballistic missile sensor.
The issue remains highly sensitive as the United States does not want to give any impression it would be able to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles that were carrying nuclear warheads, which is what Russia fears.
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“Today, this site joins the four USA guided missile destroyers in Rota, Spain in reaching Phase II of the European Phased Adaptive Approach”. “They are moving to the firing line”.
