The United States views Russian threats to place tactical missiles in the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad as provocative and misguided, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.
Gates, speaking after a NATO meeting with Ukraine, said the Russian threats were "hardly the welcome a new American administration deserved," referring to the fact they were made immediately after Barack Obama won the presidential election reported Reuters.
"Such provocative remarks are unnecessary and misguided," Gates told a news conference in the Estonian capital Tallinn.
At the same time, Washington would continue to seek a constructive and positive relationship with Russia, he said.