MOSCOW. Dec 22 (Interfax) - The moment when Moscow may make a political decision in response to the deployment of U.S. intermediate- and shorter-range missiles in Europe and the Asia Pacific region is approaching, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with Interfax.
"There should be no doubt about our determination to give a tit-for-tat response to Washington. Judging by the unfolding events, the moment when Moscow may rapidly make the necessary political decisions is approaching. Our response will be swift," Ryabkov said.
"Judging by how enthusiastic the United States is about the practical implementation of its plans for the most rapid deployment of ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles, the incomplete development of advanced weapons of the corresponding class by the U.S. defense industry is almost the only impediment on this path," he said.
"However, real progress made by the Americans in this area has become noticeable, and certain elements of such weapons sporadically appear as hardware outside U.S. national territory, in particular in Europe. There has been a lot of talk in recent days about the pending deployment of such systems in the Asia Pacific region," Ryabkov said.
"Please note that we are closely monitoring U.S. preparations, and warn that the unilateral Russian moratorium I have mentioned is closely linked to the appearance of U.S. ground-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles in the respective regions," he said.