Russia drops missile plans

Watch Video

Play Video

Russia has dropped plans to install short-range Iskander missiles in its enclave region of Kaliningrad. The decision was made after the U.S. scrapped its missile defense program in Eastern Europe.

Russia had planned to respond to the deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in the Czech Republic and Poland. One measure was the deployment of Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region.

But U.S President Barack Obama decided Thursday to scrap the missile shield intended for Europe by his predecessor George W. Bush in favor of a "phased, adaptive approach" in Eastern Europe.

As a result, Russian authorities said there was no need to deploy tactical Iskander systems in Kaliningrad. The country's defense ministry will discuss the new plans with its president Dmitry Medvedev.

The previous US plan was intended to intercept long-range Iranian missiles, which Iran has yet to develop. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates changed the plan to counter the possibility of short- and medium-range missiles.

Under the new plan, the United States would initially deploy ships with missile interceptors and in a second phase would field land-based defense systems.