Commenting on President Vladimir Putin’s remark about a potential duel between Russia’s Oreshnik missile system and US-made missile defenses, Ryabkov said: "The president made it all clear. We are confident in the power of our weapons and we know for sure that we can always rely on them to ensure national security."

Ryabkov stressed that the recent developments had shown that the US policy of establishing a system of increasingly layered missile defenses was wrong. "It doesn’t enhance US security. In terms of cost effectiveness, this is not the best option, and even based on the most cautious estimates, this is not the best way to spend money. Perhaps, the US defense industry benefits from it but definitely not the American people," the senior Russian diplomat noted.

During his annual combined press conference and Q&A session, Putin challenged all the Western experts who questioned the capability of Russia’s newest Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system. Putin suggested that the West choose a target in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev or any other location, amass missile defenses there, and check if it’s possible to intercept a hypersonic missile like that.

MNA