“US officials have explained and are ready to explain again that the missile defense system is not designed against Russia, but only for ensuring regional security,” Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller said, according to a report on the official Web site of the U.S. State Department.
According to Gottemoeller, she has had numerous conversations with the United States’ Russian partners on the topic of missile defense, and each time Russia voiced the same argument that the United States was allegedly deploying a missile defense system around Russia.
Gottemoeller added that the Russian Federation reported in October that it had deployed 1,643 nuclear warheads that could potentially target the United States. At the same time, the United States only has interceptors in Alaska, which means that Russian nuclear warheads could break through U.S. nuclear defenses.
"In this regard, our final decision is that we will continue deploying missile defense systems around the world to ensure regional security," Gottemoeller said.
She added that the United States has serious concerns about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as Russia’s violation of the Treaty on the elimination of short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
