MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. By deploying US weapons in Germany, Washington and Berlin are throwing "money down the drain," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Rossiya-24 television.
"They are throwing their money down the drain," he said, commenting on US plans to deploy long-range weapons in Germany.
Ryabkov pointed out that Russia saw no reason to get nervous and worry about that because the country’s leadership saw this coming, and is prepared. According to him, the US and NATO don’t change their aggressive policy but Russia cannot be intimidated and will always find a way to respond to such actions.
The Russian deputy foreign minister went on to say that the US would not be able to drag Moscow into an expensive arms race or make it disarm to its own detriment, "the way it happened in the past, when NATO adopted the so-called ‘zero solution’."
"At the end of the day, the [Russian] military and the commander-in-chief will decide what to deploy, and where and how to do that to fend off these threats. In short, we will be covered by a reliable shield," Ryabkov concluded.
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." Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said that the US plans increased the likelihood of a missile race and could lead to uncontrolled escalation.