Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the US defense shield in Eastern Europe is not part of defense, but Washington's nuclear potential in Europe. The Russian president said that the unilateral deployment of US air defense systems in Romania is not taking into account Russia's concerns. US air defense systems in Poland may be easily used for short-, mid-range missiles, Vladimir Putin said. Earlier on Thursday, the US Aegis Ashore missile defense system was officially inaugurated at a military base in Romania, and the construction of a similar complex will begin in Poland on Friday. Moscow is forced to consider ways of tackling appearing threats after the deployment of US air defense systems near Russia's borders, Putin said. Putin emphasized that currently there is no nuclear threat from Iran. Moscow proposed Washington to cooperate on the issue, however, US authorities refused to do so, he said. Russia will not be dragged into an arms race, Putin said, adding that Moscow is doing its best to maintain strategic balance of power and avoid large-scale military conflicts. "Of course, we are doing everything needed from our side so as to provide for the maintenance of this strategic balance of power that is the most reliable guarantee against the appearance of large-scale military conflicts, which in their aftermath, undoubtedly, would be in no comparison to those conflicts in the hot spots on the planet that we know. We cannot allow this to happen and we won't," Putin said during a meeting with top military personnel.
