RSS
Romania surprised with the position expressed by Russian President Vladimir Putin
The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry expresses its surprise at the stance voiced on May 27 in Athens by the President of the Russian Federation on Romania's missile defence system, informs a ministry release this Saturday.
"This stance reveals that the real situation both Romania and its allies have repeatedly explained, namely that the missile system has a purely defensive character, is being ignored. It could also be interpreted as a threat to regional security. We remind again on this occasion that the bilateral Romania - U.S. missile defence agreement strictly provides for the defensive nature of the Deveselu system and its compliance with the provisions of the UN Charter. The Foreign Ministry reiterates that this system is not targeted at the Russian Federation or at any other state whatsoever," reads the release.
The ministry also mentions the "repeated distortion" of realities.
"The repeated distortion of these realities can only maintain a tense atmosphere which comes in contradiction with the spirit of openness shown by Romania and its allies as regards the missile defence. Moreover, it is surprising that the subject is placed in the context of regional security, when the reasons for the concerning regional security developments in recent years are well known," the Foreign Ministry said.
President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Romania and Poland they could find themselves in the range of Russian rockets because they are hosting elements of a U.S. missile shield that Moscow considers a threat to its security, Reuters reports.
Vladimir Putin made on Friday his starkest warning yet over the missile shield, saying that Moscow had repeatedly cautioned that it would have to take retaliatory steps but that Washington and its allies had ignored the warnings.
"If yesterday in those areas of Romania people simply did not know what it means to be in the cross-hairs, then today we will be forced to carry out certain measures to ensure our security," Putin told a joint news conference in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. "It will be the same case with Poland," he said.
Putin did not specify what actions Russia would take, but he insisted that it was not making the first step, only responding to moves by Washington. "We won't take any action until we see rockets in areas that neighbor us," said the Russian President.