Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the US missile systems deployed in Norway had been added to NATO’s chain of destabilizing actions. According to Zakharova, the systems are intended to expand the capability to carry out missile strikes deep inside Russian territory.
Commenting on the deployment in Europe of US systems capable of launching intermediate- and short-range missiles, Zakharova said the move represented a new link in NATO countries’ destabilizing activities.
Missile infrastructure in Norway
Zakharova said the systems in Norway are based on Mk-41 cells capable of launching missiles at land and sea targets. The Russian spokesperson said the systems could launch long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles and that their deployment would bring a significant part of European Russia, including Moscow, within range.
Zakharova said the systems and their associated command and support infrastructure would become a focus of Russia’s strategic deterrence forces. She argued that they could form part of the offensive capability NATO countries might use to pursue strategic objectives against Russia.
Zakharova also said that if the possibility of armed conflict arose, the infrastructure in Norway would be taken into account in planning for the use of strike capabilities.
Strategic stability dialogue with the United States
Assessing strategic stability talks with the United States, Zakharova said the dialogue had not stopped but had been unilaterally interrupted by the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
Zakharova criticized the current US administration’s call for multilateral negotiations that would also include China, saying Beijing had repeatedly made clear that it had strong reasons not to participate in talks at this stage.
Zakharova said the conditions necessary for productive and effective strategic stability talks between Moscow and Washington had not been established. She argued that deploying US ground-based intermediate- and short-range missile systems in Europe, which threaten Russia, would eliminate the remaining conditions for constructive discussions on strategic issues.
