Rogozin: US, NATO Have 1000 Interceptors for Striking Russian Missiles

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (R), NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) and Permanent Representative of Russia to NATO Dmitry Rogozin (C) walk after the Russia-NATO Council meeting in the Black sea resort of Sochi, Russia 04 July 2011. EPA

The United States and its NATO allies already have about one thousand missiles capable of intercepting Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to Russia's Deputy PM in charge of defense and Ambassador to NATO Dmitry Rogozin.

"Along with its allies, whom the U.S. now persuades to buy ships equipped with the Aegis Combat System, the overall potential can be estimated at about 1,000 interceptor missiles," Dmitry Rogozin said Friday in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station, as cited by RIA Novosti.

He has thus once again raised alarm about the project for a NATO – US missile defense system in Europe, adding that the figure of US and NATO interceptor missiles is currently approaching the limits established by the recently signed Russia-US strategic arms reduction treaty.

"There are no guarantees that after the first, second, and third phases [of the U.S. missile shield project] are completed, there will be no fourth, fifth and sixth. Do you really think they will halt all their technologies after 2020? That's nonsense! They will go ahead with developing and boosting technical parameters of their interceptor missiles and performance capabilities of their warning [missile defense] systems," Rogozin said.

He pointed out that U.S. interceptor missiles cover all of European Russia to the Urals Mountains, and are capable of hitting not only small and medium-range missiles of "rogue states," but also intercontinental ballistic missiles of Russia's armed forces.

"The fact that the missile defense system can hit strategic missiles and the fact that those bases and fleet are deployed in northern seas demonstrate the evident... anti-Russian nature of the [U.S.] missile defense," Rogozin said.

RIA Novosti says that Russia-NATO missile defense talks are close to deadlock as Moscow is seeking written, legally binding guarantees that the US-backed European missile defense program will not be directed against it, but that Washington refuses to provide the guarantees, saying the shield is directed against threats from Iran and North Korea.

It adds that Russia and NATO agreed to cooperate on European missile defense system at the Lisbon Summit in November 2010. President Dmitry Medvedev proposed a joint system with full-scale interoperability to ensure that the alliance's system will not be directed against Moscow. The military bloc, however, favors two independent systems which exchange information.

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