Baluyevsky: US Missile Shield Is Directed At Russia

PLAYFULS
The head of Russia's Armed Forces General Staff, Yury Baluyevsky said at a press conference in Moscow the missile-defence shield that the US will build in Europe is aimed at Russia and China. Baluyevsky said the shield is a “creation of defence against the nuclear potential of Russia and China”. The statement came after the Bush administration dispatched Gates to invite Russia, the shield's most vociferous opponent, to cooperate.

The White House has said the shield is aimed at preventing states like Iran and North Korea from threatening Europe and the United States with any intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), but Russia argues those countries don't have ICBMs. Washington decided to build elements of the shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, which are not far from Russian territory.
Robert Gates said "excellent" and "real headway" was made after his meetings with Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials. However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said at the same press conference that the shield would be "serious annoyance in our strategic relations for years ahead," and the US-Russian relations were "better than the press writes but worse than they could be,” Interfax reported.


The General Staff head made a call to all Europeans, saying they would "pay" for the US shield and become "hostages of the United States' game." Baluyevsky added that the shield might become a target for Russian missiles and Russia is capable to build arms that could surpass the shield.