PRESS RELEASE
Abandonment of Anti-Missile Defense in Europe by the U.S. Must Follow Nuclear Agreement with Iran, Says Lavrov
July 14, 2015 (EIRNS)—The conclusion of the nuclear agreement with Iran was welcomed widely in Iran, Russia, and Syria. According to Business Insider, the Russian Foreign Ministry tweeted today saying, "the deal on Iran nuclear program is based on the approach articulated by President Vladimir Putin." In addition Putin was cited in a statement released by the Kremlin that says the deal means that its "bilateral relations with Iran will receive a new impetus and will no longer be influenced by external factors." Syrian President Bashar al-Assad voiced his pleasure that Tehran and the Group 5+1 eventually settled their 12-year differences, Fars News Agency reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at a press conference at Vienna, pointed out clearly what Russia expects should follow from this agreement.
"We all probably remember that in April 2009 in Prague [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama said that if the Iran nuclear program issue is sorted out, then the task of creating the European segment of the missile defense system will disappear,"
he said, as reported in RT today. In the 2009 speech at Prague, Obama had said:
"If the Iranian threat is eliminated, we will have a stronger basis for security, and the driving force for missile defense construction in Europe will be removed."
Since 2009, while the talks with Iran on nuclear deal were in progress, the US was working on a plan to deploy four guided missile destroyers, known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach, as the centerpiece of the European missile defense shield, which would also include interceptor batteries in Poland and Romania, radar in Turkey, and a command center at Ramstein in Germany. Despite repeated protests by Moscow citing these deployments as violations, the Obama administration has moved ahead, always citing Iran’s nuclear threat.
