Moscow voices remarks on new NATO missile base in Poland
Date
11/16/2024 8:36:50 AM
(MENAFN) The Kremlin has condemned the opening of a new US missile base in Poland as an effort to curb Russia’s military capabilities. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for President Vladimir Putin, stated that the base is part of a broader strategy to advance American military infrastructure closer to Russia’s borders. The base, located in Redzikowo in northern Poland, will officially open on Wednesday and forms part of the US's growing permanent military presence in Europe. The missile defense complex, which has been under construction since the 2000s, will be the second of its kind in Eastern Europe, joining an existing facility in Romania.
Peskov remarked that this move was a direct attempt to contain Russia’s military potential and warned that Moscow would take "appropriate measures" to maintain military parity. He also reminded reporters that President Putin has long expressed concerns about NATO’s eastward expansion, which Moscow views as a threat to its national security. Peskov cited Putin's past discussions with US President George W. Bush in the 2000s, where Russia rejected the US justification that the missile defense system was aimed at countering threats from Iran.
The new base, part of NATO’s missile defense shield, is located about 150 km from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and includes radar facilities, missile defense sites in Romania and Turkey, and US Navy destroyers in Spain. The system is designed to intercept short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Poland, which has been a key logistical hub for NATO's support of Ukraine, has long pushed for a permanent US military presence. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski celebrated the base as a sign of the "geostrategic consistency" of the US-Poland alliance.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that NATO’s military expansion is a security threat and has denied any intention to attack the alliance. President Putin recently dismissed concerns about Russian aggression in Western Europe as “nonsense” designed to stir fear and justify defense spending in the West.
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