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Poland says Russian Iskander missiles deployment 'inappropriate response' to NATO activity

The Polish top diplomat says Russia’s decision to deploy Iskander missiles to the Kaliningrad region an inappropriate response to NATO’s activities

WARSAW, October 10. /TASS/. Poland considers Russia’s decision to deploy Iskander missiles to the Kaliningrad region an inappropriate response to NATO’s activities, Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski stated at a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makey.

"We believe the Iskander missiles deployment to be an inappropriate response to what NATO does," Waszczykowski said, adding that even if NATO deploys its troops on the western flank according to the decisions made at the recent summit in Warsaw, "this will not change its defensive doctrine in relation to Russia."

"NATO and Poland, in particular, do not have any aggressive plans towards Russia," the foreign minister noted expressing hope that "Russia will return to the path of dialogue."

Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov earlier stated that the Russian military had more than once deployed the Iskander tactical ballistic missile systems to the Kaliningrad region and would continue to do so in the future as part of the combat training. "The Iskander tactical ballistic missile system is a mobile one. According to the combat training plan, the Russian missile forces hone their march training year-round, covering long distances in various ways: by plane, water transport and on foot," the general noted.

"The Kaliningrad region is no exception, missile forces have been deployed there many times and will be deployed in the future as part of the Russian military’s combat training," Konashenkov added.

The Iskander is designed to destroy such targets as missile systems, multiple rocket launchers, long-range artillery, aircraft and helicopters at airfields, command centers and communication hubs. The Iskander-M system has a range of up to 500 kilometers.