Deployment of US anti-missile defense in Japan affects Russia’s interests

US plans to deploy a ballistic missile defense system in Japan will directly affect Russia’s security, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced today after his talks with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono.

“In the context of our strategic stability tasks we once again drew attention of our Japanese colleagues to necessity to develop collective measures in this field, to collectively strengthen the strategic situation and secure the global parity. In this connection, we have confirmed our attitudes to the US plans to deploy a global anti-missile defense system and Japan’s plans to join this program,” Lavrov is quoted as saying by TASS.

He also noted that while respecting fully Japan’s right to choose its own ways to guarantee protection of its territory, Russia derives from the assumption that actions of any country in this field must be based on the principle of indivisibility of security. “The plans to deploy a global anti-missile defense system directly affect Russia’s safety. We have agreed to continue the dialog on the issue,” the Russian minister said.