The United States and Britain are planning to deploy previously banned intermediate and shorter-range ground-based missiles (INF) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region (APR). As stated today, on April 5, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, Moscow will take measures of a military-technical response to new missile threats.
Zakharova drew attention to the fact that in the past few weeks, statements by Pentagon representatives about practical steps to implement plans for the earliest possible creation and deployment of the INF Treaty in various regions of the world began to be heard more and more often. The United States is developing a wide range of such weapons, including hypersonic missile systems. At the same time, it is reported about the successful advancement of research and development work in this direction, as well as testing.
“For the tasks of deployment and possible use of such weapons, the US military is forming special task forces, two of which, apparently, are planned to be deployed in the Asia-Pacific region and one in Europe. At the same time, it was determined that on European soil the main task will be to defeat air defense systems “and breach gaps in the enemy’s defense” in a conflict with Russia”, – the diplomat commented
According to Zakharova, the British military joined the plans of the Pentagon, announcing their intention to modernize their 44 American M270 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), in particular with an eye on the use of PrSM high-precision missiles developed in the United States. In a press release from the British Ground Forces, it is said that such a system will make it possible to deliver missile strikes “to depth”, again to neutralize enemy air defense systems.
“It is noteworthy that the Anglo-Saxon commanders are fixated on the task of defeating purely defensive means that ensure the security of the Russian Federation in the event of a threat of a military attack”, – Zakharova emphasizes.
She calls “explicit and deliberate misleading” the British military’s data on the PrSM range, which is allegedly limited to 499 km, while Pentagon officials talk about its ability to hit targets at distances of up to 800 km.
“The implementation of such military programs is gaining momentum, which obviously leads to a narrowing of the space for a politico-diplomatic solution to the post-INF Treaty problem and preventing a serious aggravation in the missile sphere. All this is happening in the absence of clear signals to us on this topic from the political elite of the new US administration, as well as from the overwhelming majority of American NATO allies, who, as shown by the crisis around the INF Treaty, have taken a conciliatory position on this issue, which is of decisive importance for European security” , – the Russian Foreign Ministry noted.
Zakharova notes that Russian initiatives, within the framework of which specific proposals have been put forward to resolve the concerns accumulated by the parties by introducing reciprocal moratoriums on the deployment of ground-based INF and agreeing on mutual measures to verify their observance, remain without a constructive response.
According to her, Russia will continue to carefully monitor practical measures to create an arsenal of land-based INFs from the Americans, as well as their allies in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, including taking into account the intentions announced by Great Britain.
“We are by no means shutting the door for dialogue, but in the current conditions we do not rule out that Russia will be forced to increasingly shift the focus of efforts to the implementation of measures of military-technical response to emerging missile threats”, – concluded Zakharova.