MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Formation of a non-strategic European missile shield may be one of the ways to settle the issue concerning controversial US plans on setting up its missile shield in Europe, which Russia strongly opposes, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
"We need to find the solutions of complicated international security problems basing on the balance of interests and compromises," Shoigu said addressing the participants of the 4th Moscow International Conference on Security, held in the Russian capital on April 16-17.
"My statement can be backed up by solid initiatives, which will help to ease tensions and strengthen global and regional security if implemented," Shoigu said. "The solution of the European anti-missile defense issue can be traced in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ideas on the formation of the non-strategic missile defense for Europe."
Russia and US-led NATO have been in a long dispute over US missile shield plans in Europe, which the United States said was aimed to defend its allies from possible missile threats emerging from Iran and North Korea.
Russia viewed the deployment of the missile shield near its borders as a threat to its national security and in 2011 then-President Dmitry Medvedev announced a set of measures to counter the US-proposed missile defense system in Europe. The measures particularly included the construction of new air-defense radar systems and deployment of Iskander missiles in Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, which borders on Europe.