Interfax
December 12, 2013
Putin: Western missile defense system is defensive only in name
MOSCOW: The true goals of the missile defense system being built by Western countries do not correspond with its name, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
“We are perfectly aware that missile defense systems are defensive only in name. In fact, this is a significant component of a strategic offensive potential,” Putin said in an annual address to the Federal Assembly on Thursday.
The United States has long been declaring that the main purpose of the missile defense system being deployed in Europe is to intercept missiles that could be launched by Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that the settlement of the problem of Iran’s nuclear program should make the joint U.S.-NATO missile defense system in Europe irrelevant.
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Interfax
December 12, 2013
Putin: expanding missile defense, non-nuke high-precision systems may nullify strategic nuclear arms limitations
MOSCOW: Agreements on the reduction and limitation of strategic nuclear armaments may be brought to naught by the enlarging military potential of foreign countries, President Vladimir Putin said.
“The rising potential of strategic non-nuclear high-precision systems of foreign countries combined with the growing capacity of the missile defense network may bring to naught all earlier agreements on the limitation and reduction of strategic nuclear armaments,” Putin said in his address to the Federal Assembly.
This may disturb the strategic balance of forces, he noted. “We are well aware of that and we know what we should be doing,” Putin stressed.
The president said he was concerned about the development of new weaponry systems, such as small-sized nuclear munitions, non-nuclear strategic rockets and hypersonic non-nuclear high-precision systems for delivering strikes within a short period of time and on long distances.
“We are attentively monitoring the development of the so-called concept of a mass disarming strike. There is such a concept, and it is developing actively in certain states. The implementation of these plans may have extremely negative consequences for regional and global stability,” the president emphasized.
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