US activates missile shield base in Romania - BBC News - 0 views
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US activates missile shield base in Romania
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The US has activated a land-based missile defence station in Romania, which will form part of a larger and controversial European shield.
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The US says the Aegis system is a shield to protect Nato from short and medium-range missiles, particularly from the Middle East.
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Relations between the West and Russia have deteriorated since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula in 2014.
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Nato and US officials say the system has been developed to track and intercept missiles fired from a "rogue" state. In the past Iran was mentioned in that context, but the US has also had North Korea in mind.
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"Russia has repeatedly raised concerns that the US and Nato defence are directed against Russia and represents a threat to its strategic nuclear deterrent. Nothing could be further from the truth," he added.
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"This decision is harmful and mistaken, because it is capable of upsetting strategic stability," said Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian foreign ministry's department for proliferation and arms control issues.
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He said the Americans' MK-41 launch system could also be used to fire cruise missiles, not just air defence missiles.