Russian Information Agency Novosti
December 13, 2013
Russia Says Iran Deal Makes US Missile Shield Plan Redundant
MOSCOW: The United States should abandon its plans for a missile defense system in Europe, as the breakthrough deal last month with Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions “has completely changed the geopolitical situation,” a Russian foreign ministry official said Friday.
“We have always heard from our partners that their reasons for taking steps to build the missile defense system were over concerns about Iran’s nuclear program,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov told reporters in Athens.
“Now, we see it, those concerns are no longer valid. Let’s see what our partners do.”
Iran struck a deal last month with a group of six nations to abandon elements of its nuclear program in exchange for $7 billion in relief from sanctions. The agreement stipulated that international inspectors be allowed into Iran’s nuclear sites and uranium enrichment work be abandoned.
The missile defense plans have soured US-Russian relations in recent years. The United States maintains the system is necessary to defend its NATO allies from emerging-threat states such as Iran and North Korea, while Russia insists it may undermine Russia’s nuclear deterrent.
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Voice of Russia
December 12, 2013
Iran deal not to make NATO scrap Europe missile shield plan – official
The international community’s recent nuclear deal with Iran will not make NATO scrap its plan to build a missile shield over Europe because “the decision to build a missile defense system [in Europe] doesn’t have to do with just one or even two countries,” the director of NATO’s Information Office in Moscow said on Thursday.
“We are talking about 30 countries that either already possess or are close to acquiring the technology of making ballistic missiles that can carry weapons of mass destruction,” said Robert Pszel.
“The missile defense project is a decision that NATO’s 28 countries have made on the basis of a joint evaluation of threats,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had claimed that the planned missile defense would in effect be part of NATO’s offensive potential.
“We are perfectly aware that the missile defense systems are only defensive in name. In actual fact they are a significant part of the strategic offensive potential,” Putin said in an annual message to parliament.
The United States had been saying for a long time that the main purpose of the planned European missile defense was to intercept missiles that might be fired by Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that a definitive solution to the Iranian nuclear problem should make NATO ditch its European missile defense project.
Voice of Russia, Interfax
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