MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Vladimir Chizhov said during a telephone interview from Brussels:
“But the fact that with the deal on the Iranian nuclear program now having become a reality, though it still needs to be implemented by all sides, actually removes the primary reason for the European missile defense system to be created. President Obama in 2009 publicly stated that should the Iranian nuclear program issue be resolved, then there would be no need for such a system. Today we are hearing something different from Washington.”
Chizhov said that even though Obama’s statement was not legally binding, Washington is continuing to push for the deployment of the missile defense systems in Eastern Europe, which brings suspicion that the systems were not actually meant for defending Europe from an alleged Iranian military threat.
“That was a public statement, it was not a legally-binding statement, but the geographical contours of the system, which include positioning elements of the European missile defense in countries like Poland and Romania, by virtue of geography, they indicate that Iran might not be the real target,” Chizhov said.