Peskov: Russia will not withdraw Iskanders from Kaliningrad until Europe's plan for anti-Russian missile system is cancelled
The Press Secretary for the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, stated in his interview with BBC TV that Moscow will not withdraw its Iskander missile systems from Kaliningrad for as long as there are missile systems in Europe targeted against Russia.
“It is a very difficult issue. We can’t just withdraw these missile systems from Kaliningrad without knowing that plans to create anti-Russian missile systems on the European continent will be cancelled,” Peskov said. Last year, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the reports on redeployment of Iskander-M mobile missile systems to the Kaliningrad region.
The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, noted that deployment was implemented within routine tests of capacities of domestic missile troops.
After the emergence of information concerning redeployment of Iskanders to Kaliningrad region, the representatives of the Baltic States made statements claiming that the actions by the Russian Federation will inflame the situation and considered them an inadequate response to what NATO is doing.