The US’ attempt to get an advantage over Russia and China is undermining the global security system, Russia’s top brass said, Russia Today reported.
Russia estimates that by 2020 the US will have as many as 1,000 interceptor missiles at its disposal, which would be a threat to Russia’s missile capacity.
“The presence of the global ABM system lowers the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, because it gives the US the illusion of impunity for using strategic offensive weapons from under the protection of the ABM ‘umbrella,’” Viktor Poznikhir, deputy head of operations of the Russian general staff, told a disarmament conference in Geneva.
“The ABM shield is a symbol of the build-up of rocket forces in the world and a trigger for a new arms race,” Poznikhir said.
He said the US is continuing to develop the system under a pretext of countering a perceived threat from North Korea and Iran, while ignoring Russia’s wider concerns.