Russia's response to the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in Europe will be "reasonable and adequate," but will not end the possibility of further negotiations, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday during a meeting with officers of the Southern Military District, RIA Novosti reported.
"We will have to make some decisions, and I will announce them soon. There is no doubt that our actions are reasonable, adequate and not closing the road in order to continue the discussion of the situation surrounding the European missile defense system with our partners in the North Atlantic [Treaty Organization]," Medvedev said.
He noted that the missile defense system and the way it is offered by the American side "can significantly change the system of parity," which may create certain problems for Russia.
In October, Moscow's NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin said Russian talks with the United States on missile defense had hit a dead end.
The Kremlin says the U.S. expansion of an anti-missile system in Europe is a potential threat to Russia's nuclear arsenal, while Washington has been trying to convince Moscow that the system poses no threat to Russia and is needed to protect against missiles that could be fired from countries with smaller arsenals such as Iran.
The missile shield dispute between Russia and the United States has undermined efforts to build on improvements in relations between the former Cold War foes and is intensified by Russia's uncertainty of U.S. policy after the November 2012 presidential elections.