Shoigu says U.S. missile defense system inciting arms race
MOSCOW. April 4 (Interfax) - The U.S. missile defense system is a destabilizing factor and it is encouraging an arms race, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
"No one has any doubts now that the U.S. missile defense system is a serious destabilizing factor; an incentive for an arms race, and a massive violation of international obligations, including the Treaty on the Elimination Of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles," he said at the 7th Moscow Conference on International Security on Wednesday.
"The continual reinforcement of the group of U.S. troops in Eastern Europe also causes concerns," he said.
"There is a paradoxical situation: NATO is looking to increase and modernize infrastructure near the Russian borders, while a myth about an increasing danger to Europe is cultivated in public opinion. That is, they are scaring themselves with a non-existent Russian threat," the minister said.