Germany's Bild newspaper first reported over the weekend that Russia had placed the ballistic missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave near Poland over the past 12 months.
A top Russian defence official said in response to the report that several Iskander batteries had been stationed in Russia's Western Military District -- a region that includes the exclave and also borders the three Baltic states, members of the European Union.
He did not confirm that the missiles had been placed in Kaliningrad.
"Iskander operational-tactical missile systems have indeed been commissioned by the Western Military District's missile and artillery forces," Russian news agencies quoted defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying.
He added that Russia's deployment "does not violate any international treaties or agreements" and should therefore not be subject to protests from the West.
The Kremlin warned in 2011 that it may deploy short- and medium-range missiles along the EU's eastern frontier in response to NATO's deployment of a missile defence system.
Both the United States and NATO have long argued that the shield is not aimed against Russia but is designed to protect the West from potential threats from so-called "rogue states".
But Moscow fears the system -- whose components include both ground-based radar and missile-positioning satellites -- may one day be turned into an offensive weapon that targets Russia's soil.
The Kremlin also believes that the system may one day be expanded to a point that makes Russia's own vast nuclear arsenal ineffective.
- AFP/nd
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/russia-moves-nuclear/924768.html
16/12/13
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Russia's FM warns against whipping up tensions over Iskander missiles....Lavrov expressed hope that no one will whip up emotions and try to build up confrontation over this...
ReplyDeleteWARSAW, December 19. /ITAR-TASS/. President Vladimir Putin has replied to all concerns about Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday, December 19, and warned against attempts to whip up tensions over this issue.
Speaking after a meeting of the Russian-Polish committee on strategic cooperation, Lavrov expressed hope that “no one will whip up emotions and try to build up confrontation over this.”
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said his country hoped that Moscow would keep its word and will refrain from stationing Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region if American anti-missile defence elements are not deployed near its border.
The deployment of Iskander missile squadrons in Russia’s westernmost Kaliningrad region was not discussed with the EU foreign ministers, Lavrov said on Monday after a meeting with his EU colleagues in Brussels.
“As regards an allegedly sensational article in some German newspaper, our Defence Ministry has provided explanations. This issue was not discussed today,” he said.
This past weekend, some mass media reported that Iskander systems would be deployed in the Kaliningrad region.
http://en.itar-tass.com/russia/712233
19/12/13