Russia Seeks New Missiles Due To US Shield Plans

MOSCOW: Russia has intensified efforts to develop new ballistic missiles in response to US plans to deploy an anti-missile system in Europe, a Russian news agency quoted a top Russian general as saying on Friday. The decision by the United States to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic has angered Moscow, which says Russia's national security will be compromised by the U.S. anti-missile system. Colonel-General Nikolai Solovtsov, Commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, was quoted by the news agency as saying that Russia had bolstered its efforts to develop new missiles. "At the present time, work has been intensified to create the research and technical foundation for new missile systems, which will be needed after 2020," Solovtsov said. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced on November 5 that Moscow would install Iskander short-range missile systems near the Polish border if Washington proceeds with its missile plans. Medvedev also said Russia would try to electronically jam the U.S. system. Russia's relations with Washington this year hit their lowest ebb since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union after a row over the war against U.S. ally Georgia and Moscow's recognition of two Georgian rebel regions as independent states.

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