On Tuesday, a US State Department official told Sputnik that Washington would continue its policy of placing missile defense systems in Eastern Europe because of possible ballistic missile threats in the region, including those posed by Iran.
"For years now, the United States with NATO are developing this anti-ballistic system which targets directly Moscow and not Tehran," Luc Michel said.
On April 3, NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu told Sputnik that the so-called European missile shield is not directed against Russia.
Lungescu added, however, that the bloc will go ahead with its plans to deploy a fully-fledged missile defense network in Europe despite the recent agreement with Tehran aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Russia has raised concerns over the close proximity of the ballistic missile systems to its borders. Moscow has also expressed concerns that such deployments could upset the strategic balance.
