Russia says changes in the U.S. missile-defense posture confirm the need for “legally binding assurances” from Washington that its antimissile systems are not aimed at Russia.
The new U.S. strategy abandons plans to place long-range missile interceptors in Poland in the next decade as part of a NATO missile shield — a step Russia had long protested.
However, the United States says it will add additional interceptors in Alaska and a radar station in Japan to counter the threat from North Korea.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that the new U.S. installations in the Asia-Pacific region are cause for “concern.”
In Brussels, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that “Europeans will see no difference in their missile defense” despite the U.S. change.