Medvedev explained NATO’s position on missile defense for Russia
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent messages to the heads of state of the Russia-NATO Council (NRC) outlining the position of the Russian Federation on missile defense (PRO).
According to the Kremlin press service, the messages, in particular, emphasize that the Lisbon NRC 20 Summit of November 2010 of the year opened up opportunities for building a strategic partnership based on the principles of equality, indivisibility of security, mutual trust, transparency and predictability.
The President reaffirmed Russia's readiness declared in Lisbon to take on a share of responsibility for maintaining strategic stability and security, including the formation of a joint missile defense system in Europe.
The messages state that the European missile defense system can become truly effective and viable only if Russia participates in it equally, and stresses the need to reliably guarantee that the antimissile potentials deployed in Europe will not undermine strategic stability and will not be directed against any from the sides.
Meanwhile, we recall, on the eve of the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Anatoly Antonov said that the Russian military are developing an action plan in case of deploying elements of the American missile defense system near the borders of the Russian Federation.
“Not only conversations are being conducted, but also serious work. The Ministry of Defense should take into account any and the most unfavorable development of the situation, ”said Antonov.
According to him, the military think about "how to protect our country if Russia is not heard in negotiations with NATO" and if military potential is deployed near the borders of the country, which could threaten the national security of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, Antonov noted that the Russian side does not want to go for confrontation and hopes that a joint solution will be found after determining the real missile threats.
In November 2010, at the Russia-NATO Council summit, the parties agreed to cooperate on the creation of a European missile defense system. 4 May 2011 in Brussels hosted a meeting of the NRC at the level of chiefs of staff, from the Russian side was attended by the head of the General Staff Nikolai Makarov, who said that Moscow is ready to discuss any constructive proposals for participating in the European missile defense system, but NATO should give guarantees that the system being created is not will threaten the nuclear potential of the Russian Federation.
Earlier, NATO announced plans to deploy missile interceptors near the Russian borders. The United States and Romania have agreed on the deployment of elements of the US missile defense system on Romanian territory. The Russian side has not yet received legal guarantees from the Alliance that the missile defense system being created by NATO will not be directed against the Russian military strategic potential.
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