Romania
Friday 21 July 2017
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Vladimir Putin
President, Russian Federation
“When a country joins NATO it becomes next to impossible for it to resist pressure from major NATO leaders such as the United States, and hence, it may deploy anything – a missile defense system, new bases, or if need be, missile strike systems.”
Read more...The Russian president says the United States and other major NATO members use the alliance to exert pressure against Russia by forcing Eastern European members to establish missile defense systems. But Eastern nations say they are the ones demanding more military installations and troops. -
Sergei Ryabkov
Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
"The appearance of such launchers on land is considered by us as a direct violation of the U.S. Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty."
Read more...Russia says a U.S. missile defense system installed in May in Romania violates a missile treaty. The U.S. says the system is not designed to attack and experts say turning a defensive system into an offensive one is a complex endeavor.