Russian President threatens to deploy missiles to target the US missile shield in Europe if the US fails to allay the country’s concerns about its plans

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened on Wednesday to deploy missiles to target the US missile shield in Europe if the US fails to allay the country's concerns about its plans.

The Russian president said that his country would have to take military countermeasures if the US continues to build the shield without legal guarantees that it will not be aimed against Russia.

The US plan calls for placing land- and sea-based radars and interceptors in European locations, including Romania and Poland, over the next decade and upgrading them over time.

Medvedev still hoped for a deal with the US on missile defense, but he strongly accused the US and its NATO allies of ignoring Russia's worries. "When we propose to put in on paper in the form of precise and clear legal obligations, we hear a strong refusal."

Captain John Kirby, a US Pentagon spokesman, responded to Medvedev’s remarks saying: "I do think it's worth reiterating that the European missile defense system that we've been working very hard on with our allies and with Russia over the last few years is not aimed at Russia."

"It is ... designed to help deter and defeat the ballistic missile threat to Europe and to our allies from Iran."

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general, said he was "very disappointed" with Russia's threat to deploy missiles. "Co-operation, not confrontation, is the way ahead," Rasmussen said in a statement.