BEIJING, December 10 (RIA Novosti) - The...

Moscow has fiercely opposed the planned U.S. deployment of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic, insisting that they would pose a threat to its national security.

"We believe that the U.S. global missile defense system could potentially upset the strategic balance between the leading nuclear powers," Anatoly Serdyukov said.

The planned U.S. missile shield, which Washington claims is necessary to counter possible strikes from "rogue" states like Iran, remains one of the most difficult and pressing issues in relations between Russia and the U.S.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened in November to deploy Iskander-M short-range missiles in the country's Kaliningrad exclave, which borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania, if the U.S. missile defense system was deployed in central Europe.

However, he subsequently said in an interview with France's Figaro newspaper that Russia could "reconsider this response if

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