Russia"s top military chief said Moscow...
The statement comes after the Bulgarian and Romanian leaders said they were in talks with Washington on hosting elements of the U.S. missile shield in their countries.
"Taking into account the present circumstances, this [the expansion of the U.S. anti-missile shield in Eastern Europe] has caused concern in the Russian government and Russian armed forces," General Nikolai Makarov, chief of Russia"s General Staff, said. "We look at this negatively."
Russia and the United States are in talks to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1), the cornerstone of post-Cold War arms control, which expired on December 5 last year with a new deal. U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev have ordered a speedy completion of the deal.
Makarov said the new arms deal was 97% complete, with only technical issues remaining to be agreed, but added that U.S. plans for missile defense systems in Eastern Europe were affecting the negotiations.