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US must present missile defense criteria, if it goes ahead with its plans - Lavrov

Moscow is open to a discussion

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

Photo EPA/ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, December 9 (Itar-Tass) —— The United States must present the military and technical parameters of the missile defense, if it does not give up its BMD plans, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin’s authorized proxies.

Lavrov said the United States showed no signs it might make any changes to its phased adaptive approach to deploying a missile defense in Europe.

“We are certain that this scheme will be built in a way that would create real risks to our strategic nuclear deterrence force,” Lavrov said.

Moscow is open to a discussion.

“But the discussion can be conducted only in two dimensions – either we shall create a joint system that would be really designed to neutralize risks coming from outside the Euro-Atlantic zone,” Lavrov said. “Or, if the US sticks to its intention, we shall need firm guarantees the system would not be targeted against Russia. And alongside guarantees we need military and technical criteria that we shall be able to check at each stage of the work to create the US missile defense.”

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