Russia demands guarantees on anti-missile shield

Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Baconschi emphasized on Thursday that setting some elements of the American anti-missile shield system on the Romanian territory was necessary, as ballistic threats have increased in south-eastern Europe.

The chief of the Romanian diplomacy says that in Romania there is a political consensus on the agreement signed by Romanian and U.S. experts on Wednesday and he expresses hope that Russia also will respond positively and will take part constructively in this system.

Teodor Baconschi expects a much stronger reaction on this matter from the part of his counterpart in Moscow.

On Thursday he expressed his disappointment over the fact that the signals had come "from some secondary spokesmen".

Russia’s reaction to the appointment of American interceptions site in Romania was, predictably, negative but moderate, as the daily newspaper ‘Kommersant’ also noted on Thursday.

Russian Ministry Foreign Affairs in a comment and Russian Headquarters leader, General Nikolai Makarov, demanded guarantees, "firm guarantees" from the USA. General Makarov said ‘that the American shield in Europe or NATO. euro-shield will not be directed against Russia’s nuclear forces’.

Moscow’s official position is that although in its first two phases of development the shield does not affect its nuclear deterrence potential, this danger can happen in the third phases and especially the fourth, thus on the scope of the 2020s.

Discussions at the level of head of states

In this case, Russia reserves the right to withdraw from the START treaty and makes it clear that it might analyze possible response measures.

Officials in Moscow have not talked about concrete countermeasures, such as for example the presence of Iskander missile batteries at NATO borders.

Summarizing Moscow’s complaints, General Makarov said that since the location of US interceptors in Europe outran the existing agreements with Russia, there was a concern that the missile defense architecture was already decided and asked for explanations in this regard.

According to Russian officials, Russian and American experts would now discuss the possibility of a joint declaration by Presidents Medvedev and Obama providing that Russian and U.S. missile systems are not directed against the other party.

Signing the Romanian-American agreement before all these talks end has determined some Russian officials to question even the chances of political guarantees, but not the legal obligations the maximum which Washington seems willing to provide Moscow.

The anti-missile issue will be at the center of the talks between Russian head of state, General Makarov, and his US counterpart, Michael MacMullen, which will start on Thursday.

Translated by: Cătălina Virvescu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University