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Ex-German FM Says 'Wrong' to Deploy Missile Defense System in Europe

© AP Photo / Czarek SokolowskiPolish and US soldiers look at a missile defense battery during joint exercises.
Polish and US soldiers look at a missile defense battery during joint exercises. - Sputnik International
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Former German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said that NATO has come too close to the Russian borders and it should be taken into account.

German army tanks are lined up after the NATO Noble Jump exercise on a training range near Swietoszow Zagan, Poland, Thursday, June 18, 2015 - Sputnik International
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BERLIN (Sputnik) — It is a "wrong" decision to deploy US-designed missile defense systems in Europe, former German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said.

Russia has repeatedly expressed concern over the creation of the NATO ballistic missile defense system in Europe, approved in 2010 during a NATO summit in Lisbon. A group of European countries, including Poland, Romania, Spain and Turkey, agreed to deploy elements of the system on their territories.

"I think that the planned deployment of the missile defense system [in Europe] is a wrong [step]," Kinkel told RIA Novosti in an interview.

According to Kinkel, NATO has come too close to the Russian borders and it should be taken into account.

Soldiers of the separate tank battalion of the Baltic Fleet motorized infantry brigade, during loading of tanks on flatcars, for dislocation to the district selected for military exercises, in the city of Gusev, Kaliningrad Region. - Sputnik International
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"Perhaps, too little attention has been paid to that issue," Kinkel said.

NATO-Russia relations deteriorated sharply in 2014, following the beginning of an internal conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea's reunification with Russia. The alliance accused Russia of meddling in the Ukrainian conflict and began to reinforce its presence in Eastern Europe, in response to what it considers Moscow's aggressive foreign policy.

Moscow also believes NATO military buildup along its western borders undermines regional and global security.

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