MOSCOW, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Moscow considers the U.S. readiness to deploy hypersonic missiles in Europe to deter Russia a cynical proposition that will not contribute to the security of the United States and its allies.
"These remarks made by O'Brien do not contribute to the security of the United States or its allies. The only thing Washington manages to deter using these methods are any feeble efforts made by Europe to show autonomy and try to establish meaningful relations with Russia," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing on Thursday.
U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien's remarks on his readiness to deploy hypersonic missiles in Europe are particularly cynical, given Russian President Vladimir Putin's de-escalation proposal announced on Monday, Zakharova said.
In the proposal, Russia confirmed its commitment to the moratorium on the deployment of ground-based intermediate and short-range missiles in Europe.
"Given all the remarks made by the U.S. politicians, you'd better deter yourself but not Russia. The persistence the United States shows in creating a pretext for a new missile crisis in Europe is perplexing," Zakharova emphasized.
Russia further called on Washington and its allies to carefully study the proposed initiative and meaningfully respond to it.
Putin proposed mutual verification measures regarding the Aegis Ashore systems with Mk-41 launchers at U.S. and NATO bases in Europe, as well as 9M729 missiles in Russia's Kaliningrad region.
The Russian president said Russia is ready to refrain from deploying 9M729 missiles in the European part of the country, only if NATO countries take reciprocal steps, excluding the deployment in Europe of weapons previously prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Enditem
