NO BACKING DOWN: Russia warns it will ‘do everything’ to keep US missiles out of Europe
RUSSIA has said it will do “everything possible” to stop the US deploying missiles in the Baltic states as the fallout from the collapse of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Treaty continues.
By TOM NELLIST
Express.co.uk
Fri, Feb 15, 2019
Earlier this month US President Donald Trump announced he was pulling out of the three decade old treaty which aims to keep long and intermediate range missiles out of Europe. The move triggered a six month countdown to the treaty being officially torn up and allowing both the United States and Russia to station missiles around the continent at will. Moscow has denied America’s accusations that it has already broken the treaty and instead accused Washington of using the diplomatic spat as a pretence for its own ambitions to put missiles in Europe.
Moscow has now gone one step further by vowing to stop Donald Trump carrying out any plans to put missiles in Washington’s Baltic allies, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Mr Trump would be free to put missiles in American bases in the NATO member nations, who have had strained relations with Russia since the Soviet Union broke up, once the treaty is formally dissolved.
Moscow has now gone one step further by vowing to stop Donald Trump carrying out any plans to put missiles in Washington’s Baltic allies, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Mr Trump would be free to put missiles in American bases in the NATO member nations, who have had strained relations with Russia since the Soviet Union broke up, once the treaty is formally dissolved.
Mr Rybakov told Russian state news agency TASS “I will make every possible effort to prevent it” in response to a question on American missiles.
The 58-year-old politician added: “I am sure that everyone who is somehow involved in our foreign policy, defence and security activities will work as a team to prevent a situation that would mean everything that was a cornerstone of European security for decades has perished.”
Russia is extremely worried about American ballistic missiles which could reach Moscow in “three to four minutes” after being fired from bases in the Baltics.
Colonel General Viktor Yesin, an adviser to the Russian strategic missile force commander and former strategic missile force chief of staff, told state news: “The arrival time of Tomahawk missiles will be about an hour.”
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