Russia issues warning to Washington amid relocation of Tomahawk systems

Russia will take "compensatory measures" should American intermediate- and short-range missile systems pose a threat to it.

This was assured by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, referring to US-made Typhoon systems, Caliber.Az reports citing TASS.

“We will, upon the appearance of such systems in the corresponding regions from where they can threaten our security interests, consider and apply compensatory military-technical measures,” Ryabkov emphasised.

The diplomat's remarks come following the recent relocation of the American Typhoon system, which is used to launch, among other things, Tomahawk cruise missiles.

It was revealed on November 17 that the US military had removed its Typhoon mobile ground-based missile systems from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan. The systems, which had been deployed to Iwakuni as part of US-Japanese exercises, were initially planned to be withdrawn after their conclusion on September 25. China and Russia have repeatedly warned of the dangers of deploying such medium-range weapons in the region.

"We're not exaggerating the importance of moving certain systems based on considerations that may arise or disappear in Washington," Ryabkov noted. "In fact, the system has been created and has already been used in relevant exercises."

By Nazrin Sadigova