Moscow desires Russian missile shield over the Baltic States

Russia still wants to avoid elements of NATO’s anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence in close vicinity and proposes to the Alliance to divide Europe into responsibility areas, the Second Investigation Department under Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence, in charge of military intelligence, said in a 2012 report on threats to national security.

“Despite the publicly-declared aspiration to cooperate with the US and NATO, including the area of anti-missile defence, Russia’s main goal remain unchanged; i. e., to avoid the deployment of NATO’s anti-aircraft and anti-missile elements on the territory bordering Russia. Russia suggests to NATO to divide Europe into sectors of anti-missile responsibility,” the report reads.

The report includes a map showing the Baltic States, Finland and large parts of Poland, Sweden and Norway as “a territory covered by Russia’s anti-missile elements.”

The explanation in Russian says that “the deployment of NATO’s anti-missile objects in this territory poses threats to our strategic nuclear capabilities.”

“If this proposal is implemented, the Baltic States and part of the Polish territory would fall under ‘Russia’s responsibility area’; i. e., NATO would have to hand over to this country part of its commitments to ensure security of its member countries, and the Alliance’s actions would be limited in the region. Currently, Russia is actively developing its anti-aircraft and anti-missile system, near the border with NATO. The system is already capable of detecting and destroying air targets several hundred kilometres from the Russian border, including the airspace of NATO member countries,” the document states.

NATO representatives have said on numerous occasions they would not agree with Russia’s proposal to divide Europe into sectors and would not sign with Russia any agreements limiting the Alliance’s use of its weaponry.