WASHINGTON – *The United States is making billions of dollars in Americanarms sales to European nations by raising the specter of Russianaggression, according to a report. *
The weapons deliveries are part of the Donald Trump administration’s widerplans to confront Russia in the region, CNN reported on Saturday.
The State Department issued approval for a potential sale of the Patriotmissile system, including about 100 missiles, to Sweden on Wednesday. Thesystem is designed to intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missilesas well as drones.
A US military official based in Europe said Russia’s deployment of itsnuclear-capable Iskander missiles to Kaliningrad was “the biggest movewe’ve seen” in terms of the country’s efforts to militarize the Baltics.
“They’ve always had ballistic missiles there; this kind of brings asignificantly longer range than they had there previously,” the officialtold the American broadcaster.
He claimed that the Russian missiles could threaten parts of Poland,Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany and Sweden.
“These sales are a response to not only Russia’s increasing militaryactivity, but also to the fact that Russia is modernizing its Air Force andlong-range strike capabilities,” Magnus Nordenman, the director of theTransatlantic Security Initiative at the Washington-based Atlantic Council,told CNN.
The United States has encouraged its allies in the region to acquireAmerican capabilities to counter Russian missiles.
In November 2017, the State Department authorized the sale of $10.5 billionin Patriot missile systems to Poland. However, Polish officials protestedthe hefty price tag.
The proposed sale includes four radar sets, four control stations, sixteenlaunching stations, and 208 Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) missiles,according to the Pentagon.
Last month, Poland’s Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak said that hisgovernment had renegotiated a lower price and accelerated delivery time forthe system.
US Vice President Mike Pence has claimed the three Baltic states ofEstonia, Latvia, and Lithuania face the specter of aggression from Russia.
“No threat looms larger in the Baltic States than the specter of aggressionfrom your unpredictable neighbor to the east,” Pence said in July last yearduring a joint press conference with Baltic leaders in Tallinn, Estonia.