Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will make a wide-ranging statement on elements of Euro-Atlantic security on Friday, including U.S. plans for an anti-missile shield in Europe.
The outgoing president is not, however, expected to signal a “toughening of Russia’s position,” on the shield, which Moscow fears could undermine its national security, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybkov told journalists.
“This will be a much broader statement,” Rybkov said ahead of Medvedev’s speech at a Euro-Atlantic security forum in Moscow.
Negotiations between Russia and NATO member states on the U.S.-led missile defense project have deadlocked over the West's reluctance to give Moscow legally–binding guarantees that the shield will not be used against it.
The United States says the shield is designed to protect against “rogue states” such as Iran and North Korea, but Russia is concerned it could eventually be used to neutralize its own nuclear deterrent.
Medvedev said on Tuesday that Russia was preparing a host of countermeasures to tackle NATO missile defense, including forward deployments of tactical nuclear missiles in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad.
"We are not closing the doors for communication, but we really need to prepare ourselves," Medvedev said at a Defense Ministry meeting.
Medvedev stands down as president in early May after 4 years in the Kremlin. His successor, Vladimir Putin, is expected to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a Chicago G8 summit in mid-May.