Moscow has received information from the US concerning the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to Romania, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said at a Friday briefing, ONA reports citing TASS.
"We have received a certain amount of information and explanations about the reasons for the temporary redeployment of the THAAD system for the period of maintenance works at the missile defense facility in Romania’s Deveselu. We have taken it all into account and are currently assessing it," the senior Russian diplomat said.
According to Ryabkov, Russia "can’t understand what tasks the Aegis Ashore system will accomplish in the missile defense area." "Perhaps, the problem is that we understand missile threats differently than the US and its allies," he noted.
"It is also not clear to Russia how the US can - if it can - guarantee that the Mk-41 universal launchers included in the Aegis Ashore system won’t be used for launching surface-to-surface missiles," the Russian deputy foreign minister pointed out.
"We have many times talked about it with our American colleagues while discussing the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty, when it was still possible to make a reasonable agreement and maintain the Treaty. However, the United States’ decision to undermine the document prevailed. The Treaty is likely to cease to exist on August 2, 2019," Ryabkov said.
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