Rogozin urges no missile shield in Baltic region

BERLIN, April 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Ambassador to NATO Dmitry
Rogozin said there should be no missile shield in the north of Europe as
potential missile threat can come only from the south.
"We believe there should be no (missile defense) systems, weapons or
information means first and foremost in the Baltic-Kaliningrad region.
There is nothing to fear there, there is no potential adversary and no
military infrastructure shall be deployed there that would only create new
threats," he told reporters on Thursday on the eve of the Russia-NATO
ministerial meeting which is to discuss the European missile shield on
Friday in the German capital city.
"We shall concentrate efforts only on missile-dangerous directions.
There shall be no missile shields where such threats do not exist. In such
regions it is necessary to encourage a feeling of security, but without
deploying missile shield weapons with a range that will cover the
territory of a partner," Rogozin said.
"We believe it is absurd to claim that potential future missile
challenges may target Europe from all directions. Nobody is threatening
Europe even theoretically from the Atlantic Ocean and from the north the
only threat are Polar bears," he said.
"If there is a potential missile threat, it comes from the south,"
Rogozin said but refused to name any country as "Russia is against
appointing bad guys."
The United States said the missile shield is necessary against
potential threat from Iran, but Rogozin said "we have to speak about the
southern direction in general, about the Middle East where some countries
truly plan to acquire missile technologies and some have already done
that."
The ambassador said it is necessary to "comprehend the reasons why the
leaderships of the countries want to acquire such technologies," but "we
have also to think about military-technical response."
He reiterated the Russian position calling to create "a single missile
defense perimeter capable of operating in an agreed manner to repel
outside threats, but not to deploy missile defense information means or
weapons inside the Euro-Atlantic space."
"National missile defenses will be under control of respective
states," he said adding Russia will in several years create and deploy
S-500 system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles in the near space.
"Our American colleagues have similar technologies. The Europeans do
not have them. But as the talk is about the European continent: we believe
it should not be a U.S. shield on the territory of Europe as in the final
end the Europeans have to think themselves and be responsible for their
own security. Europe cannot be an onlooker in the creation and deployment
of weapons on its territory," Rogozin said.
He said Russia is ready to join the effort on one condition. "We need
strict legal guarantees that the system will not target Russian strategic
deterrence potential. That is our national interest, which we cannot put
in doubt. We cannot risk our national interests and sovereignty
guarantees," Rogozin said.