Russia calls Romania `a clear threat` and NATO outpost: Ifax

by Dramelin 1:30 AM 0 comments

MOSCOW Russia views Romania as a NATO outpost and as a threat due to it hosting elements of a U.S. anti-missile shield, the Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing a Russian foreign ministry official. "All these decisions ... are in the first instance aimed against Russia," he said, accusing Romanian authorities of reveling in anti-Russian rhetoric. "Romania`s stance and the stance of its leadership, who have turned the country into an outpost, is a clear threat for us," Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, a senior Russian foreign ministry official, told Interfax in an interview. The U.S. military, which says the shield is needed to protect from Iran, not threaten Russia, switched on the $800 million Romanian part of the shield in May last year. Moscow`s comments come as NATO deploys thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry to Poland, the Baltic states and southeastern Europe, in its biggest buildup since the Cold War.