Russian Foreign Minister: Relations with Japan Will Worsen If the US Deploys a Missile Defense System
Deploying the US missile defense system in Japan seriously worsens the quality of relations between Moscow and Tokyo, and not seeing this is a mistake, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with VTV and Chinese television channel DTV "Phoenix".
“The Japanese military alliance with the United States is an important factor. The Americans have the right to deploy their armed forces anywhere in Japan and have deployed their missile defense system there, creating risks for both Russia and China,” Lavrov said.
"I repeat, this is happening under conditions where Washington declares us as America's main adversary. It would be wrong not to see that instead of the declared goal, it is not to improve, but to worsen the quality of our relations," he added.
In 2017, the Japanese government decided to deploy two US Aegis Ashore ground-based missile defense systems in the country. The two systems are planned to be deployed in Akita prefecture in the northwest and Yamaguchi in the southwest of the country. Each will cost 100 billion Japanese yen (about $890 million).
