Lavrov, Wang Yi Press Conference: U.S. Must Not Deploy THAADS in South Korea

PRESS RELEASE

Lavrov, Wang Yi Press Conference: U.S. Must Not Deploy THAADS in South Korea

March 11, 2016 (EIRNS)—Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi, following a meeting in Moscow Thursday, met with the press, where both strongly condemned the U.S. effort to place THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missiles in South Korea, warning that they will respond.

Wang Yi said:

"We stand firmly against the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea under the pretext of the nuclear problem of the Korean Peninsula. We believe this to be directly damaging to Russian and Chinese strategic security.... Such plans go beyond the defense requirements in the region, violate the strategic balance and would lead to a new arms race."

Lavrov said:

"The plans, which the U.S. has been nursing together with the Republic of Korea, exceed any conceivable threats that may come from North Korea, even taking Pyongyang’s current actions into account."

Both Russia and China, they said, support the U.S. resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea for the nuclear program, but also insist that the resolution’s call for a resumption of talks, to find a peaceful solution, must be honored by all nations.

However, Lavrov added:

"We believe it to be essential not to shelter behind the excuse that this [THAAD deployment] is taking place because of the North Korean reckless ventures.... We are going to expose the absolutely invalid nature of such plans, which undermine global parity and strategic stability, we are going to ask our American partners for an honest and objective discussion."