Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Nov. 27 that Moscow will take compensatory measures should the U.S. deploy intermediate- and short-range missile systems in any region that threatens Russian security. He was commenting on recent movements of the American Typhon missile system, which is capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles among other munitions, reported TASS. He explained, “We will consider and apply compensatory military-technical measures, if such systems are introduced in relevant regions from which they could pose a threat to our security.”
TASS noted reports that on Nov. 17 the U.S. Armed Forces had withdrawn Typhon mobile ground-based missile systems from the Marine Corps’s Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.
These systems, initially deployed during U.S.-Japanese exercises, were scheduled for withdrawal after their conclusion on Sept. 25. Both China and Russia have repeatedly expressed concerns about the deployment of medium-range weapons in the Asia-Pacific region, citing regional stability risks.
Ryabkov said: “We do not overstate the significance of the movement of certain systems based on considerations that may change in Washington. The system has been developed and has already been used in relevant exercises.” He continued to add that the presence of Typhon in the Asia-Pacific “has persisted long enough that it no longer makes sense to describe it as a short-term or isolated deployment.”
He concluded, “This is a projection of force, as understood by the Pentagon.”
