. | . |
Moscow to raise US missile shield at NATO summit by Staff Writers Moscow (AFP) July 12, 2016 Moscow said Tuesday it plans to discuss improving airspace safety over the Baltic Sea and the risks of a US missile shield in Europe at its summit with NATO this week. The announcement comes after a string of incidents and near-misses in Baltic Sea airspace fuelled tensions between Moscow and the alliance. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow plans to raise "increasing aviation safety in the Baltic Sea region" when representatives of Russia and NATO convene in Brussels on Wednesday. Russia's NATO-member Baltic neighbours have accused Moscow of regularly violating their airspace in recent months and flying with switched-off transponders, devices that allow radars to identify planes and prevent collisions. President Vladimir Putin this month backed a call for all military aircraft flying over the Baltic region to keep their transponders on. At the summit with NATO, Moscow will also "stress the risks to strategic stability that have appeared as a result of the ongoing construction of the US and NATO anti-missile system in Europe," Zakharova said. Relations between NATO and Russia have soured since Moscow annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine in March 2014 and eastern European countries are worried that they too might be targets of Russian aggression. NATO vowed at a summit in Warsaw last week to bolster its eastern flank to counter a resurgent Russia, agreeing to deploy four battalions in Poland and the Baltic states. Moscow slammed the decision, accusing NATO of working to counter a "non-existent threat." Putin said last month that Moscow will not be dragged into an arms race by NATO and accused the US-led alliance of skewering the military balance in Europe. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has meanwhile vowed to counter the NATO build-up by sending 2,000 items of new or modernised equipment to the country's western border flanking Baltic nations.
Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |