Russia Denounces 'Arrogant' U.S. Envoy Comments
Russia on Wednesday denounced as "arrogant" a vow by the U.S. ambassador that NATO would deploy a missile defense shield in Europe despite the Kremlin's stiff resistance to the plan.
"Yesterday, our colleague the U.S. ambassador very arrogantly declared that there will be no changes in missile defense," the Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on a visit to Azerbaijan.
"It would seem that an ambassador, who is a friend of the state (he is working in), should understand that one must take that state's views into account," said Lavrov.
The comments represent the latest salvo in a war of words Russia has been waging with U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul since his arrival in Moscow in January.
McFaul is a Russia specialist who helped craft U.S. President Barack Obama's 2009 "reset" in relations with outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev.
His appointment coincided with a transition of Kremlin power back to Vladimir Putin -- Medvedev's current premier and former KGB spy who fought bitterly with Washington while president in 2000-2008.
McFaul met with the people who helped organize the mass street protests against Putin's return to the Kremlin on May 7 just a day after his arrival in Moscow.
The meeting was loudly condemned by Russia's dominant state media and helped set the tone for a tumultuous stay thus far for McFaul that also saw him engage in a heated argument with a Moscow television crew last week.
Lavrov's latest barb was aimed at an interview McFaul gave to the state RIA Novosti news agency concerning missile defense.
Russia fears the U.S.-backed system will one day make its own nuclear arsenal ineffective. Washington says the shield is limited in scope and can only help protect Europe from individual missiles fired by nations such as Iran.
The dispute has clouded the two sides' ties for years and has gained importance as the initial deployment date nears.
McFaul was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti that Washington found "any limits in this area unacceptable because our main priority rests in the safety of our citizens and our allies."
A live microphone at a Seoul summit had earlier caught Obama as telling Medvedev that Washington might be able to compromise on the issue after his November re-election.
McFaul is an avid Twitter user but he did not immediately comment on Lavrov's remarks.
Source: Agence France Presse
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