Russia concerned over US warship participation in Black Sea drills
12/06/2011
MOSCOW, June 12 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday voiced concern over the participation of the U.S. guided missile cruiser Monterrey equipped with the AEGIS ballistic missile defence system in the Ukrainian-U.S. naval drills in the Black Sea.
“The Russian side has repeatedly stressed that we shall not leave unnoticed any elements of U.S. strategic infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of our borders and that we shall take such steps as a threat to our security,” the ministry said in its statement. “We have to state that our concerns are still being ignored and that screened by talk about cooperation in the area of anti-missile defence this very anti-missile shield configuration is being formed in Europe, while we have repeatedly warned our U.S. and NATO partners about its dangerous consequences. Moreover, it is being done blatantly as though to demonstrate Russia that no one is going to take its opinion into consideration. Such an approach in no way promotes joint efforts to outline the concept and architecture of the future missile defence system in Europe, as was agreed in Lisbon and at meetings between the Russian and U.S. presidents.”
“The mere fact that the very first phase of the U.S. administration’s ‘adaptive approach’ is accompanied by such ‘surprises’ testifies to the high level of strategic vagueness the U.S. missile defence program creates,” the Russian Foreign Ministry went on. “The question is quite logic whether oral warranties that it is not targeted against Russia could be trusted.”
“U.S. missile cruiser’s reconnoitering of the Black Sea waters once again proves the necessity to spell out clear legal guarantees that anti-missile defence infrastructure that is being deployed in Europe is not targeted against Russia’s nuclear deterrence potential. Such guarantees should be based on objective criteria making it possible to see to it that missile defence systems meet their stated goals, i.e. to repel missile threats originating from outside Europe. It is likewise vital to ensure Russia’s equal participation in the development of the concept and architecture of the European missile defence system and to work out relevant measures of building up trust and transparency,” the statement said.
Monterrey was sent to European waters as part of the U.S. administration's ‘phased, adaptive approach’ to building the European segment of the global missile defence shield. The first stage of the program envisages the deployment of a group of U.S. warships in the Adriatic, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas to protect South Europe from possible missile strikes. Under an official U.S. version, these warships may enter the Black Sea in cases of necessity, such as aggravation of tensions in the region.
“Leaving aside the unsettled issue of a possible European missile defence system architecture in compliance with the Russia-NATO Lisbon summit decisions, we would like to know what kind of ‘aggravation’ the U.S. command meant by moving the basic strike unit of the regional missile defence grouping that the North Atlantic Alliance is forming in the region, from the Mediterranean to the east,” the ministry said. “If it is an ordinary visit to this extremely sensitive region, then it is unclear why a warship with this type of armament was chosen, and what kind of role Monterrey’s anti-missile systems were to play under the Sea Breeze-2011 scenario that aimed to drill a ‘NATO anti-piracy operation.”
“We were ready to talk all this over in Deauville. It is a pity we have failed. We shall continue our efforts to get a completely clear picture on these most serious issues at further talks with the United States and NATO,” the statement stressed.
ITAR-TASS : Russia concerned over US warship participation in Black Sea drills
