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Idea of U.S. threat to Russia is "ludicrous": Rice

Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere (L) and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speak at a news conference at the Government Guest House in Oslo, April 26, 2007. REUTERS/Heiko Junge/Scanpix

OSLO (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed as nonsense the concerns of some Russian officials that a planned U.S. missile shield in eastern Europe could pose a strategic threat to Moscow.

“The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous and everybody knows it,” she told reporters ahead of a NATO-Russia meeting in Oslo.

“The Russians have thousands of warheads. The idea that you can somehow stop the Russian strategic nuclear deterrent with a few interceptors just doesn’t make sense,” she added.

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