Putin Criticizes U.S. Missile Defense Deployment in Europe Again

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, has once again criticized the deployment of the United States missile defense system in Europe, stating that this missile system could potentially be converted into an offensive system for use against the Russian Federation. The state news agency TASS reported on Saturday, June 18, Putin's remarks in St. Petersburg, where he reiterated his criticism of the U.S. missile defense system in Europe. He stated, "There is no [nuclear] threat from Iran, but the missile defense system [in Europe] is still under construction. Therefore, we are right to say that they are trying to deceive us, and they have not been honest with us about the deployment of this missile system under the pretext of an alleged nuclear threat from Iran." Putin noted that "it seems they are trying to deceive us again," adding, "We approximately know when the Americans will have new missiles that have a range not of 500 kilometers but more, and from that time they will threaten Russia's nuclear capability." He emphasized that "we know what is going to happen over the years, and they know that we know." This is not the first time the Russian President has criticized the ongoing deployment of the U.S. missile defense system in Europe. A month ago, during his visit to Greece, Putin harshly criticized the activation of the U.S. missile defense system in Romania and the symbolic installation of this system in Poland, stressing that with the removal of the Iranian threat, the U.S. missile defense system no longer has justification. Romania and Poland were both members of the Eastern Bloc and allies of the Soviet Union, and in response to Vladimir Putin's concerns, the President of Poland emphasized that this system is not aimed at any country and is solely for "defending the sky of Europe against any missile attack." However, the Russian President reiterated on Saturday that what they "constantly repeated" was that "we must protect ourselves against the nuclear threat from Iran." He then repeated the question, "Where is the nuclear threat from Iran? Nowhere." Another part of Putin's remarks reported by TASS relates to the possibility of cooperation between Russia and the U.S. The Russian President stated that despite all our proposals and criticisms regarding real cooperation, the U.S. does not want to cooperate fully with Russia and is advancing its plans by rejecting Russia's proposals. He added, "Believe it or not, we have made specific proposals for various cooperations, all of which have been rejected." According to a report by Reuters, Putin accused the U.S. and its allies of using the Ukraine crisis as a "justification for NATO's continued existence." The Russian President added that to justify the necessity of NATO, the U.S. and its allies need a "foreign enemy," while currently, "there is neither the Warsaw Pact nor the Soviet Union." These remarks come as Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Foreign Minister, criticized the military exercises of NATO forces in Eastern Europe on Saturday, deeming such actions provocative and a cause for escalating tensions with Russia. In an interview with the 'Bild' magazine, the text of which will be published on Sunday, he also added that "the symbolic parade of tanks at the eastern borders of NATO member countries does not guarantee security." Mr. Steinmeier did not specify which exercise he was referring to, but Reuters, which published this news, considered the German Foreign Minister's views as a sign of a rift in the political stance of his country's leadership towards Moscow. He also emphasized involving Russia in responsible international cooperation regarding arms control, the Middle East crisis, and preventing Iran from accessing nuclear weapons. The German Foreign Minister's statements come after last week, 31,000 military forces from NATO member countries and their allies conducted a defensive exercise in Poland and Lithuania. German military forces also participated in this defensive exercise as one of the NATO members. Last week, the U.S., the U.K., and Germany announced that starting next year, a military unit will be deployed at NATO's eastern borders to curb Russia's show of force in the region. Since last year, following the intervention in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, Russia has been subject to EU economic sanctions. These sanctions were extended for another six months last December, and this month, EU leaders will decide on the potential extension or lifting of these sanctions. The EU considers the lifting of these sanctions conditional on Russia fulfilling its commitments under the Minsk Agreement, but Russia, through its President, has stated that the issue of Crimea is forever settled and not open for discussion.