OREANDA-NEWS. NATO justifies the active development of the regional anti-missile defense (ABM) system, including the containment of Russia, said Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu.

“Another trend in recent years is the larger-scale deployment of missile defense systems and their coupling with strike weapons. Russian experts have repeatedly pointed to the destabilizing role of missile defense in the Asia-Pacific region. elements of restraining Russia by NATO. Therefore, statements about the non-directional missile defense against Russia and China do not stand up to criticism," he said at the Moscow conference on international security.

Shoigu noted that today the situation is complicated by the fact that after the US withdrawn from the Russian-American Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, any restrictions on the creation and deployment of missiles of this class, including in Asia, have been removed.

"From a military point of view, the combination of a strike missile component with anti-missile defense means can change the balance of forces not only in the region, but throughout the world. If the decision on the deployment of medium-range missiles is taken, then this situation will pose a threat to the eastern regions of Russia. Federation, "Shoigu said.

The deployment of US medium-range missiles in Asia could pose a threat to Russia's eastern regions, he said.