Russia strongly slams Trump's missile defense shield plan
Russia on Friday condemned an executive order by US President Donald Trump to build a new missile defense shield, blaming the United States for trying to pave the wave for military confrontation in space.
MNA- Russia on Friday condemned an executive order by US President Donald Trump to build a new missile defense shield, blaming the United States for trying to pave the wave for military confrontation in space.
Trump on Monday signed an order that "mandated a process to develop an ‘American Iron Dome,’" a next-generation US missile defense shield against ballistic, hypersonic, cruise missile, and other forms of aerial attack.
The White House claimed the intention was to modernize an outdated system and address a "catastrophic threat" that had become more complex as US adversaries developed new delivery systems.
But Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the plan was aimed at undermining the ability of both Russia and China to exercise nuclear deterrence.
In the sharpest Russian criticism so far of a policy announced by Trump's new administration, she said that the planned US move would hinder the prospects for talks on nuclear arms control - something that both Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have said they favor, Reuters reported.
"It (the plan) directly envisages a significant strengthening of the American nuclear arsenal and means for conducting combat operations in space, including the development and deployment of space-based interception systems," Zakharova told reporters at a news briefing in Moscow.
"We consider this as another confirmation of the US focus on turning space into an arena of armed confrontation... and the deployment of weapons there.
"The indicated US approaches will not contribute to reducing tensions or improving the situation in the strategic sphere, including creating a basis for a fruitful dialogue on strategic offensive arms," she said.
