Moscow - Russia denounced the clinching of a US deal with Poland on Wednesday to site a missile defence system on its territory as "anti-Russian."Russian President Dmitry Medvedev "has declared that the deployment of elements of US strategic ABM missiles in the Czech Republic and Poland clearly demonstrates the anti-Russian aim of the US global missile defence system," Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov said in a statement posted on the ministry's website Wednesday.
"Russia will be in that case compelled to react and not only through diplomatic means," Lavrov added.
Moscow has remains unconvinced by Washington's claims that the missile defence system is needed to protect against "rogue" states such as Iran. It views the deployment of US missiles along its border as a threat to its security.
The ministry's statement Wednesday said that the "extension" and "modernization" of US missile defence plans to include Patriot air defence missiles proved that the Polish base "cannot have any relation to the parrying of an imaginary Iranian threat."
"And Teheran, with which the US side is so busily frightening Europeans, not only does not have any intention, but also no technological capability in the coming years to threaten Europe, not to mention the United States, with a missile attack."
After more than a year of tough bargaining, Poland signed an agreement Wednesday to host 10 US missile interceptors in return for a pledge of US military aid, including the Patriot air defence missiles.
