The French presidency of the European Union on Friday expressed ”strong concern” over a Russian plan to station new missiles near Poland’s border.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pledged on Wednesday to station the missiles in the Kaliningrad region, a Russian enclave bordering EU members Poland and Lithuania, in response to US plans for an anti-missile system in the region.
”The presidency of the European Union council expresses its strong concern after the announcement by President Medvedev … of the deployment of a complex of Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad,” the presidency said in a statement.
”This announcement does not contribute to the establishment of a climate of trust and to the improvement of security in Europe, at a time when we wish for a dialogue with Russia on questions of security in the whole of the continent,” it said.
The United States says its own missile system, parts of which are due to be deployed in Poland and in the Czech Republic, is not a threat to Russia but a protection for European allies against an emerging threat in the Middle East.
The missiles dispute comes ahead of a November 14 summit between Russia and the 27-nation EU in the French city of Nice.
The summer war between Russia and Georgia caused tensions in relations between Russia and the EU, which responded by freezing talks on a new partnership pact with Moscow that had been due to start on Sept. 15. — Reuters