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  • Medvedev: Russia may target U.S. missile defense sites

    Medvedev: Russia may target U.S. missile defense sites

    Medvedev: Russia may target U.S. missile sites


    MOSCOW (AP) – Russia threatened on Wednesday to deploy missiles to target the U.S. missile shield in Europe if Washington fails to assuage Moscow's concerns about its plans, a harsh warning that reflected deep cracks in U.S.-Russian ties despite President Barack Obama's efforts to "reset" relations with the Kremlin.


    By Mikhail Klimentyev, AP

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Nov. 23.

    President Dmitry Medvedev said he still hopes for a deal with the U.S. on missile defense, but he strongly accused Washington and its NATO allies of ignoring Russia's worries. He said Russia will have to take military countermeasures if the U.S. continues to build the shield without legal guarantees that it will not be aimed against Russia.

    The U.S. has repeatedly assured Russia that its proposed missile defense system wouldn't be directed against Russia's nuclear forces, and it did that again Wednesday.

    "I do think it's worth reiterating that the European missile defense system that we've been working very hard on with our allies and with Russia over the last few years is not aimed at Russia," said Capt. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman. "It is … designed to help deter and defeat the ballistic missile threat to Europe and to our allies from Iran."

    White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the United States will continue to seek Moscow's cooperation, but it must realize "that the missile defense systems planned for deployment in Europe do not and cannot threaten Russia's strategic deterrent."

    But Medvedev said Moscow will not be satisfied by simple declarations and wants a binding agreement. He said, "When we propose to put in on paper in the form of precise and clear legal obligations, we hear a strong refusal."

    Medvedev warned that Russia will station missiles in its westernmost Kaliningrad region and other areas, if the U.S. continues its plans without offering firm and specific pledges that the shield isn't directed at its nuclear forces. He didn't say whether the missiles would carry conventional or nuclear warheads.

    In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he was "very disappointed" with Russia's threat to deploy missiles near alliance nations, adding that "would be reminiscent of the past and … inconsistent with the strategic relations NATO and Russia have agreed they seek."

    "Cooperation, not confrontation, is the way ahead," Rasmussen said in a statement.

    The U.S. missile defense dispute has long tarnished ties between Moscow and Washington. The Obama administration has repeatedly said the shield is needed to fend off a potential threat from Iran, but Russia fears that it could erode the deterrent potential of its nuclear forces.

    "If our partners tackle the issue of taking our legitimate security interests into account in an honest and responsible way, I'm sure we will be able to come to an agreement," Medvedev said. "But if they propose that we 'cooperate,' or, to say it honestly, work against our own interests, we won't be able to reach common ground."

    Moscow has agreed to consider a proposal NATO made last fall to cooperate on the missile shield, but the talks have been deadlocked over how the system should be operated. Russia has insisted that it should be run jointly, which NATO has rejected.

    Medvedev also warned that Moscow may opt out of the New START arms control deal with the United States and halt other arms control talks, if the U.S. proceeds with the missile shield without meeting Russia's demand. The Americans had hoped that the START treaty would stimulate progress in further ambitious arms control efforts, but such talks have stalled because of tension over the missile plan.

    While the New START doesn't prevent the U.S. from building new missile defense systems, Russia has said it could withdraw from the treaty if it feels threatened by such a system in future.

    Medvedev reaffirmed that warning Wednesday, saying that Russia may opt out of the treaty because of an "inalienable link between strategic offensive and defensive weapons."

    The New START has been a key achievement of Obama's policy of improving relations with Moscow, which had suffered badly under the George W. Bush administration.

    "It's impossible to do a reset using old software, it's necessary to develop a new one," Medvedev's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said at a news conference.

    The U.S. plan calls for placing land- and sea-based radars and interceptors in European locations, including Romania and Poland, over the next decade and upgrading them over time.

    Medvedev said that Russia will carefully watch the development of the U.S. shield and take countermeasures if Washington continues to ignore Russia's concerns. He warned that Moscow would deploy short-range Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, a Baltic Sea region bordering Poland, and place weapons in other areas in Russia's west and south to target U.S. missile defense sites. Medvedev said Russia would put a new early warning radar in Kaliningrad.

    He said that as part of its response Russia would also equip its intercontinental nuclear missiles with systems that would allow them to penetrate prospective missile defenses and would develop ways to knock down the missile shield's control and information facilities.

    Igor Korotchenko, a Moscow-based military expert, was quoted by the state RIA Novosti news agency as saying that the latter would mean targeting missile defense radars and command structures with missiles and bombers. "That will make the entire system useless," he said.

    Medvedev and other Russian leaders have made similar threats in the past, and the latest statement appears to be aimed at the domestic audience ahead of Dec. 4 parliamentary elections.

    Medvedev, who is set to step down to allow Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to reclaim the presidency in March's election, leads the ruling United Russia party list in the parliamentary vote. A stern warning to the U.S. and NATO issued by Medvedev seems to be directed at rallying nationalist votes in the polls.

    Rogozin, Russia's NATO envoy, said the Kremlin won't follow the example of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and take unwritten promises from the West.

    "The current political leadership can't act like Gorbachev, and it wants written obligations secured by ratification documents," Rogozin said.

    Medvedev's statement was intended to encourage the U.S. and NATO to take Russia seriously at the missile defense talks, Rogozin said. He added that the Russian negotiators were annoyed by the U.S. "openly lying" about its missile defense plans.

    "We won't allow them to treat us like fools," he said. "Nuclear deterrent forces aren't a joke."
    Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
    “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

  • #2
    So its all for public consumption. Defence professionals on both sides would already know that any major strategic air defence site would be targeted by the other side in case of hostilities. *yawn*
    The best part of repentance is the sin

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    • #3
      I would think so considereing that Putin has already stated he planned upon putting 1/3 of Russia's strategic arsenal aboard the new class of subs they are building.

      Meanwhile Russia and China block any UNSC measure against Iran to halt its nuclear program.

      Maybe someone should tell him "This is not Burger King and you cant have it the way you want it".
      Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

      Comment


      • #4
        Expected, but kinda unscrupulous on Putin's erm...Medvedev's part in publically announcing it. "If you point your guns this way, we'll point our guns that way!"
        "Draft beer, not people."

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        • #5
          It'll be interesting to see the Russian response when the Chinese ABM system goes online.

          Comment


          • #6
            I suppose they are "targeting" our ABM cruisers? Duh... Thats why they have missile defenses, and ASW defenses and all their other defenses...
            sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
            If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

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            • #7
              What´s the big deal? They have had tactical missiles in Kaliningrad and ex-Leningrad military district since the dawn of time.

              The Russians just want to make noise because the chickenish Westerners react. How much they have talked about placing Iskander-M systems to Luga? Within strike distance of Southern Finland, part of Sweden and Baltics.. Not much, because we really do not give a damn since they have had tactical missiles able to strike these areas within minutes since the Tochkas came...

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              • #8
                Originally posted by USSWisconsin View Post
                I suppose they are "targeting" our ABM cruisers? Duh... Thats why they have missile defenses, and ASW defenses and all their other defenses...
                They're not talking about your ships,but the land based ones.

                Originally posted by mustavaris View Post
                What´s the big deal? They have had tactical missiles in Kaliningrad and ex-Leningrad military district since the dawn of time.

                The Russians just want to make noise because the chickenish Westerners react. How much they have talked about placing Iskander-M systems to Luga? Within strike distance of Southern Finland, part of Sweden and Baltics.. Not much, because we really do not give a damn since they have had tactical missiles able to strike these areas within minutes since the Tochkas came...
                Exactly.Everybody's on their black list since forever.
                Those who know don't speak
                He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36

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                • #9
                  an update


                  Russia Considers Blocking NATO Supply Routes

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                  By ALAN CULLISON

                  MOSCOW—Russia said it may not let NATO use its territory to supply troops in Afghanistan if the alliance doesn't seriously consider its objections to a U.S.-led missile shield for Europe, Russia's ambassador to NATO said Monday.

                  Russia has stepped up its objections to the antimissile system in Europe, threatening last week to deploy its own ballistic missiles on the border of the European Union to counter the move. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization says the shield is meant to thwart an attack from a rogue state such as Iran, that it poses no threat to Russia, and that the alliance will go ahead with the plan despite Moscow's objections.

                  If NATO doesn't give a serious response, "we have to address matters in relations in other areas," Russian news services reported Dmitri Rogozin, ambassador to NATO, as saying. He added that Russia's cooperation on Afghanistan may be an area for review, the news services reported.

                  Threats to the NATO supply line through Russia come at an awkward time for the alliance. NATO has become increasingly reliant on the Russian route as problems in Pakistan—its primary supply route—have escalated. Over the weekend, Pakistan closed its border to trucks delivering supplies in response to coalition airstrikes Saturday that killed 25 Pakistani soldiers.

                  NATO began shipping its supplies through Russia in 2009, after the so-called reset in relations between Moscow and the U.S., allowing the alliance a safer route for supplies into Afghanistan. But U.S.-Russian relations have been strained lately by the approach of elections in both countries. In the past week, the Kremlin has sharply stepped up its anti-Western rhetoric ahead of parliamentary elections on Dec. 4.

                  Ivan Safranchuk, deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute of Contemporary International Studies, said Russia is unlikely to cut off the flow of NATO supplies to Afghanistan as an immediate response to missile-defense decisions. But Russia does want its objections to the missile shield to be taken more seriously, he said.

                  "If the U.S. is not responsive, then a cutoff could be a reality at some point," Mr. Safranchuk said. "Russia would like the U.S. to be more serious about Russian concerns."

                  Write to Alan Cullison at [email protected]
                  “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by xinhui View Post
                    an update


                    Russia Considers Blocking NATO Supply Routes

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                    Comments (1)

                    more in World »

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                    Save ↓ More

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                    By ALAN CULLISON

                    MOSCOW—Russia said it may not let NATO use its territory to supply troops in Afghanistan if the alliance doesn't seriously consider its objections to a U.S.-led missile shield for Europe, Russia's ambassador to NATO said Monday.

                    Russia has stepped up its objections to the antimissile system in Europe, threatening last week to deploy its own ballistic missiles on the border of the European Union to counter the move. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization says the shield is meant to thwart an attack from a rogue state such as Iran, that it poses no threat to Russia, and that the alliance will go ahead with the plan despite Moscow's objections.

                    If NATO doesn't give a serious response, "we have to address matters in relations in other areas," Russian news services reported Dmitri Rogozin, ambassador to NATO, as saying. He added that Russia's cooperation on Afghanistan may be an area for review, the news services reported.

                    Threats to the NATO supply line through Russia come at an awkward time for the alliance. NATO has become increasingly reliant on the Russian route as problems in Pakistan—its primary supply route—have escalated. Over the weekend, Pakistan closed its border to trucks delivering supplies in response to coalition airstrikes Saturday that killed 25 Pakistani soldiers.

                    NATO began shipping its supplies through Russia in 2009, after the so-called reset in relations between Moscow and the U.S., allowing the alliance a safer route for supplies into Afghanistan. But U.S.-Russian relations have been strained lately by the approach of elections in both countries. In the past week, the Kremlin has sharply stepped up its anti-Western rhetoric ahead of parliamentary elections on Dec. 4.

                    Ivan Safranchuk, deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute of Contemporary International Studies, said Russia is unlikely to cut off the flow of NATO supplies to Afghanistan as an immediate response to missile-defense decisions. But Russia does want its objections to the missile shield to be taken more seriously, he said.

                    "If the U.S. is not responsive, then a cutoff could be a reality at some point," Mr. Safranchuk said. "Russia would like the U.S. to be more serious about Russian concerns."

                    Write to Alan Cullison at [email protected]
                    This coming from one of two countries that has no problem in thwarting stronger UNSC sanctions against Irans nuclear program. One they helped build no less.
                    Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                    • #11
                      isn't geopolitics fun?
                      “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by xinhui View Post
                        But U.S.-Russian relations have been strained lately by the approach of elections in both countries. In the past week, the Kremlin has sharply stepped up its anti-Western rhetoric ahead of parliamentary elections on Dec. 4.
                        Again, the same qualifier is used in this article too. Its because of the elections.

                        So this charade ends after Dec 4, yes ? :)

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                        • #13
                          not quite , they are still the presidential elections in march , at least that's what I herd on the radio.
                          J'ai en marre.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by 1979 View Post
                            not quite , they are still the presidential elections in march , at least that's what I herd on the radio.
                            Hmm well lets see here...Putin or Putin?
                            or Medvedev for PM or Medvedev for PM?;)

                            Maybe someone should "charge" them $200 for passing GO.

                            The Russians just want to make noise because the chickenish Westerners react.

                            Yeah, with more missles, ships and advanced electronics aimed at Russia.
                            Last edited by Dreadnought; 30 Nov 11,, 22:03.
                            Fortitude.....The strength to persist...The courage to endure.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Dreadnought View Post
                              Hmm well lets see here...Putin or Putin?
                              or Medvedev for PM or Medvedev for PM?;)

                              Maybe someone should "charge" them $200 for passing GO.

                              The Russians just want to make noise because the chickenish Westerners react.

                              Yeah, with more missles, ships and advanced electronics aimed at Russia.
                              i thoght you guys were cutting your buget by one trillion in the next ten years
                              and left us and the poles to take the fall.
                              J'ai en marre.

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