Page 21 - bne_newspaper_February_09_2018

Eastern Europe
February 9, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 21
Russia stations Iskander missiles in Kalingrad
bne IntelliNews
Russia has deployed its nuclear-capable Iskander missile system to its Kaliningrad region, an official of the Russian parliament confirmed on February 5, according to Russian media.
The move will add to the existing tension in the Baltic region, where Nato members Poland and the Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are wary of Russia’s reinvigorated military build-up.
Russia had temporarily moved Iskanders to Kaliningrad before in what Moscow said was a response to Nato’s stepping up of its military presence in the region. It is not clear whether the current deployment of the missile system is tem- porary as well.
“Yes, [Iskanders] have been deployed. The de- ployment of foreign military infrastructure auto- matically falls onto the priority list for targeting,” Vladimir Shamanov, head of the defence commit- tee in the Russian parliament’s lower house, the Duma, told RIA Novosti.
According to Lithuania, the move is a permanent one. "Iskander missiles are being stationed in Kaliningrad for permanent presence as we speak. This is not just a threat to Lithuania, but to half of all European countries,” Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said, according to Estonian news website ERR.
Grybauskaite spoke in the Lithuanian town of Rukla, where she attended an event to mark the one-year anniversary of Nato's Enhanced Forward Presence battle group in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian president also called upon Nato to decide fast on a response to neutralise the Rus- sian build-up in Kaliningrad.
Russia’s step up of its military presence in Ka- liningrad has become a serious concern for Nato neighbours Poland and the Baltic states in recent years. War games in and around Kaliningrad are not unexpected, however, given the exclave’s stra- tegic importance for Moscow in an atmosphere of heightened tension with the West.
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