(Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System at Deveselu, Romania)
Sergei Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, denounced a presumptive US plan to move nuclear weapons in Romania.
“US plan to bring in Europe new nuclear bombs, small capacity but more accurate, generates serious concerns. Such bombs can not be used as a deterrent policy, but on the battlefield,” said Ryabkov, adding:
“The new specificities of the situation in Europe are linked to the installation of anti-ballistic elements to the air base Deveselu in Romania. In the long term, a similar project will be implemented in Poland. Launchers will be similar to those on US Navy ships that can launch Tomahawk cruise missiles. Installing such launcher is a direct violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by the United States.”
“NATO maintains the actions by accumulating of a anti-missile potential in Europe (…). We have repeatedly expressed concerns about the deployment of strategic elements near Russia’s borders, a situation that directly affect our security interests.”
“We note that Washington and Brussels are reluctant to reconfigure missile defense plans despite the nuclear deal with Iran. We will continue to tell to the Europeans that they must be aware of the inevitable unintended consequences generated by the American project.”
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) is a treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, signed in Washington, D.C. by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on 8 December 1987, on the elimination of the intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.
The nuclear and conventional missiles and their launchers targeted by the Treaty have ranges of 500–1,000 kilometers (short-range) and 1,000–5,500 kilometers (intermediate-range). The treaty did not cover sea-launched missiles.
Leave a Reply