Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has harshly criticized Washington anti-missile campaign in Europe saying a country cannot ensure its own security by raising other countries’ concerns for their security.

Washington in January announced its plan to deploy anti-missile shield in Poland and Czech Republic in next five years.

According to RIA Novosti news agency reports, Grushko thinks U.S. plans to place elements of its missile defenses in Central Europe can destroy the detente process and destabilize the situation in Europe.

He said Europe and the world have been strengthening security in the past 20 years through open dialogue and the reduction or elimination of “elements that caused mutual concern, including nuclear weapons and conventional weapons.”

Grushko also said that the U.S. administration announced last week a possibility that the future missile shield could be placed not only in Poland and the Czech Republic but also in other countries.

“Just because we have systems deployed potentially in the Czech Republic as well as in Poland, that does not mean that through other avenues of cooperation the missile shield architecture might change and evolve over time,” U.S. Department of State Spokesman Sean McCormack said at a Daily Press Briefing on February 24.

The Russian diplomat said such a statement could indicate that “this missile shield program might have a long-lasting influence on U.S. policies, including during future U.S. administrations.”

In response to U.S. missile shield plans, Moscow has already warned Washington that it could unilaterally pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and resume production of intermediate- and short-range missiles in the future.

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