Iran Press/Europe: "We are disappointed by what we see. Testing of ground-based medium-range missiles are a violation of the INF Treaty and aggravate the security situation generally and that of Europe in particular," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a joint press conference with Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto on Wednesday.
Earlier, after Sunday's missile test at a US test range in California, Russia and China formally requested a UN Security Council meeting to discuss Washington's plans to test and deploy new medium-range ground-based missiles.
Putin said Russia is concerned that the US could deploy its new ground-based cruise missiles in Romania and Poland, noting that Moscow would see such a deployment as a threat to its security.
Moscow will take the appropriate and reciprocal steps if the US moves forward with such plans, but remains ready to engage in dialogue with both its US and European partners on this issue, Putin added.
Also Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov echoed Putin's concerns, saying Sunday's test of a ground-based medium-range missile by the US was a risk to global strategic stability, and adding that such testing could spark a global arms race.
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