Baku-APA. Russia urged the United States on Friday to scrap plans to station parts of a missile shield system in Europe now that Iran has reached an agreement with world powers to limit its nuclear program, APA reports quoting Reuters.
Moscow has long opposed the plan, which it sees as a threat to its nuclear deterrence, and vowed to retaliate if it goes ahead. Washington has previously assured Moscow the shield was meant as protection from "rogue" states like Iran, and not directed against Russia.
Since the July agreement under which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for an easing of U.N., U.S. and European Union sanctions, Moscow has stepped up its rhetoric against the missile shield.
"We don't see any reason to continue with the program, let alone at such an accelerated pace and with a clear aim at the Russian nuclear potential," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters.
The latest spat threatens to further worsen a deep chill in ties between Moscow and Washington, now at their lowest point since the Cold War because of the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week said Barack Obama "was not telling the truth" in comments he made in 2009 linking the need for a missile shield to what the president called the "real threat" from Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile activity.
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