SEVILLE, February (RIA Novosti) - Russia will not allow itself to be drawn into an arms race, Russia's defense minister said Friday in reference to U.S. plans to place a missile shield in Central Europe.
"We are constantly considering our security, and we must protect it under any scenario," Sergei Ivanov said at an informal session of the Russia-NATO Council in southern Spain.
"Our response will be asymmetric; it will not be costly. And if someone attempts to drag us into an arms race, we will not be led," the minister said.
Russian analysts argued earlier in the week that Washington's consistent efforts to redeploy its missile defense system closer to Russia's borders suggest the U.S. seeks to revive the Cold War.
Washington has recently moved its largest sea-based missile defense radar in the Pacific from Hawaii to the Aleutian Islands, not far from Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. It has also announced plans to install a radar system in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor in Poland, which it says it needs to protect itself against a potential threat from Iran.
At an annual news conference at the beginning of the month, President Vladimir Putin called Washington's justification of the missile shield unconvincing, and pledged to amend Russia's military strategy.
Ivanov also said comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates about Russia's unpredictability were an attempt to pressure the U.S. Congress to approve the Pentagon's budget.
"In principle, as defense minister, I can understand this statement. All sorts of tricks are used to approve the budget," he said.
"As far as predictability is concerned, I believe that Russia is as predictable as the U.S.," the minister added.
He also said the 10 interceptor missiles that the U.S. is planning to deploy in Poland do not threaten Russia's security, but that the measure is pointless.
"We are being told that the system will be installed in the Czech Republic and Poland to prevent missile launches by North Korea or Iran. Everyone knows that it is easier to intercept any missile at the boost phase. The question is, why should our American partners not deploy these systems elsewhere - for example, in Turkey or Afghanistan or Iraq," he said.
