Russia issued a statement condemning deployment of Patriot PAC-3 ballistic missile defense system. The statement reveals that Russia still sees current security international environment in terms of competition and zero-sum game, despite vigorous attempts and concessions of the current Barack Hussein Obama administration.
Russia criticized on Wednesday the United States’ deployment of Patriot missiles in Poland, saying the move did not help security or trust.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said: “Such military activity does not help to strengthen our mutual security, to develop relations of trust and predictability in this region.”
A Patriot surface-to-air missile battery arrived in Monday in Poland and was to be deployed in the north of the country, close to the border with Russia’s enclave of Kaliningrad.
“We have repeatedly stated that we do not understand the logic and sense of cooperation between the United States and Poland in this sphere,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.
“We note with regret that our questions to the Polish and U.S. sides have remained unanswered, as well as our arguments in favor of temporarily moving the deployment region as far as possible from Russian borders.”There was no immediate hint of any retaliatory Russian move to the Patriot deployment in the Foreign Ministry statement.
The battery, manned by up to 150 U.S. troops, will be stationed for about one month four times a year in Morag, northern Poland, close to Kaliningrad. Its stated main mission is to train Polish military personnel.
Russia is wary about the deployment of U.S. troops and military hardware near its borders, though its defense ministry in January denied suggestions it might boost its Baltic naval fleet in response to the Patriot deployment in Poland.
Moscow relies heavily on its strategic nuclear missiles for defense, because of the poor state of its conventional troops, so it is particularly sensitive to any deployments of anti-missile systems such as the Patriot.
Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance
