ST. PETERSBURG, July 11. /TASS/. Moscow will develop a military strategy to counter the threat from the Pentagon’s plans to deploy long-range weapons in Germany, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said.
"We will develop a military response to the new threat calmly, with a cool head," the senior diplomat told reporters on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum.
According to Ryabkov, US plans to deploy missiles in Germany seek to weaken Russia’s security, to say nothing of the impact this will have on any future negotiations.
"I believe that it’s just a link in the chain of escalation, an intimidation tactic, which is pretty much the bedrock of the policy that NATO and the US pursue towards Russia these days. We will work out a reaction in a calm and professional manner," the diplomat noted.
He also ruled out any repeat of what happened during the Cold War, when a dual decision from NATO on missile deployment eventually led to talks on their elimination. "It’s hard for me to say what the US and Germany expect in this situation as the two parties that will implement the agreement. I don’t think they believe it’s possible that history will repeat itself. The situation has changed radically," Ryabkov noted.
Washington and Berlin said earlier in a joint statement that the US would begin deployments of long-range fires capabilities in Germany in 2026, "which have significantly longer range than current land-based fires in Europe."