Russia says possible deployment of US missiles in Japan would pose a threat to Moscow

The possible deployment of US missiles in Japan would pose a serious threat to Russia, Nikolay Nozdryov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Asian Department said on Thursday.

“It is absolutely clear, if (Washington) decides to deploy intermediate and shorter-range missiles in Japan, this will pose a serious threat to neighbouring states,” Nozdryov was quoted as saying by the Russian state news agency TASS.

“This, of course, will need to be taken into account, including in Russia’s defense strategy of maintaining the security of far eastern borders.”

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He emphasized that Tokyo and Washington are in discussion to deploy intermediate-and-shorter-range missiles on Japanese territory, referring to reports suggesting the same, according to TASS.

The discussions between US and Japan reflect Tokyo’s wish to “cater to (the) interests” of the US in the Asia-Pacific region, Nazdryov was quoted as saying.

Washington had been probing Japan’s stance on the deployment of ground-based medium-range missiles a couple of years ago, Japanese daily newspaper Sankei reported earlier this year.

The missiles being considered for deployment are the long-range hypersonic weapon (LRHW) and the Tomahawk ground-launched cruise missile.

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