When reassurance is useless

(Baonghean) - In response to the US officially activating the missile shield system located in Romania and Poland - neighboring countries very close to Russia, recently, in a new statement, Russian President Putin said:“Poland and Romania are in the sights of Russian missiles.

Russian President Putin warned that Poland and Romania “will” be in the sights of Russian missiles. Photo: Dailymail.

Russia's response, considered the strongest ever, to the US's "reassurance" is not only making Romania and Poland worried but also making the world uneasy with the military buildup between the parties.

Although not the first step in opposing the US action, it can be seen that this is the “harshest” warning ever from Russian President Putin about the US missile shield system in Europe. During his recent trip to Greece, the head of the Kremlin strongly condemned the two countries of Poland and Romania - where the components of the US missile shield in Europe are located.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Athens on May 27 with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Putin frankly said: “If yesterday in Romania people did not know what it means to be in the line of fire, then from today we will be forced to take certain measures to ensure our security. The same is true in Poland.”

Mr. Putin also did not forget to "refute" the arguments put forward by the US side when installing the systems in these countries, saying that the arguments that the project is necessary to protect against Iran are absurd, because Iran has reached an agreement with the world powers on their nuclear program. The missiles in this defense network can easily reach Russian cities. Although he did not specify the measures Russia will take, he affirmed that Russia is not the first to take the first step, but only responds to the actions of the US.

Analysts say that the US and its allies' attitude of ignoring Russia's "repeated" warnings is one of the reasons why this country made such "weighty" statements.

The “weight” of Putin’s words was also measured by Poland’s reaction. The “cold” statement from Russia made this European country “sweat”. The country’s foreign minister immediately explained that “the missile shield system in Poland has nothing to do with Russia’s security. This system is to protect Europe from a possible missile attack from the Middle East”.

The Polish Foreign Minister also stressed: “The military presence of the US and NATO forces in Poland is a response to the aggressive behavior of the Russian authorities, which is threatening us. This will be a defensive presence and will not pose a threat to Russia.”

Not only Poland, AP news agency quoted the assistant secretary of state for arms licensing and deployment in Bucharest, Romania, affirming that this country faces huge challenges in dealing with Russia. Russia has a long-standing and well-operated advanced ballistic missile system, but in reality Romania does not have the capacity to deal with this threat.

However, explaining is one thing, and whether Russia is “at ease or not” is another. And of course, Russia does not easily believe in those assurances. Therefore, even though it makes such a “firm” assertion, it seems that Russia still finds it unreasonable. The desire to “ensure security” for its country is Russia’s legitimate aspiration. Russia also has the basis to continue to carry out the necessary actions to protect the country.

Diagram of the missile shield system's operation. Photo: BBC.

First, Russia fully understands that the argument that “the US missile shield in Europe is aimed at countering the specific missile threat from Iran” is unreasonable because the US and Iran are currently making great strides on the path to resolving the controversial nuclear issue of the Islamic Republic. Therefore, it is easy to see that the current threat from Iran is not urgent enough for the US to embark on the missile shield plan.

Second, the US missile defense system in Europe, although currently in a defensive state, can be “reset” for offensive use. Not to mention that the system is deployed at a time when relations between the US and Russia are extremely tense due to the crisis in Ukraine. This can be understood that Washington is clearly targeting Moscow.

Not only making "tough" statements, right after the US deployed the missile defense system, Russia also warned of implementing many measures to neutralize the European missile defense system.

In a first step to counter the US missile shield in the region, Russia announced that it would reactivate an early warning radar station in Crimea to prevent potential US and NATO missile interceptor attacks in the region. In addition, Russia has added three divisions to the western and southern regions of the country.

Although both sides have their own justifications, it is easy to see that with the moves to strengthen military forces as well as modernize the military of both Russia and NATO, the risk of a new arms race, even a new Cold War between countries, is possible.

Thanh Hien