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Deveselu anti-missile defence system to become active on Friday
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lazar Comanescu stated on Thursday that the Deveselu anti-missile defence system, scheduled to become active on Friday, was not designed as an instrument directed at the Russian Federation, but aims to be a defence shield in a world where, from the point of view of security, non-state actors are becoming more troublesome.
"Again: building this facility in Deveselu, very clearly, is not directed, was not designed to be an instrument against the Russian Federation. (It is - editor's note) a defence shield, but in a world in which we discover that from a security perspective, non-state actors are the most worrying. I insist on this aspect. Defence, including anti-missile, gains another dimension and a different importance," the minister stated in an interview for DC News.
In the context where, on Wednesday, the press published a series of declarations of commander of the Strategic Missile Forces Colonel General Sergei Karakayev on NATO's anti-missile systems, Minister Comanescu pointed to an older statement by the Chairman of the State Duma.
"You referred to the fact that yesterday too someone said something. But, I would say something that seems to have passed a little unnoticed. You remember that not long ago the Chairman of the Duma was here. (...) I, for one, noted something that seems to me very interesting. Asked about Deveselu, he answered: "it is a decision of Romanian authorities that we respect." This was not remembered. It seems to me that the third-ranked person in the Russian Federation making this kind of statement is something cannot be ignored," the minister said.
Comanescu stressed that the Deveselu anti-missile defence system represents a new confirmation of the special nature of the Romanian-US strategic partnership.
"It is, on the other hand, a confirmation of Romania's determination to contribute to the consolidation and - this way - to the security and stability in the area. Let's not forget that this facility will become an integral part of NATO's anti-missile system," Comanescu stated.
Asked whether currently Romania is in danger of war, he rejected this possibility." We cannot talk, in my opinion, about this type of danger. This does not mean that we should not be concerned - and we are doing this - undertaking any actions and taking any measures to contribute to stability and security in our area," Minister Comanescu stated.
Colonel - General Sergei Karakayev stated on Wednesday in a press conference that Russian missiles are capable of disabling the United States' so-called anti-missile shield in Europe.
""Expert estimates show that, according to its ability to analyze data and fire power, the [US] anti-missile defense system being deployed today is not able to resist a massive salvo from a unit of [Russia's] strategic missile forces," Karakayev stated, quoted by Russian press agencies.
Speaking to Radio Romania Actualitati, the Romanian public radio service, at beginning December in Washington, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Secretary of State John Heffern said the Deveselu anti-missile defence system is scheduled to become active on December 18.