Russia can see no reason that would justify the deployment of Patriot missiles in Poland, says Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

He told a new conference in Moscow on Friday that if the Patriot missile systems continued to be deployed on a permanent basis, that would be in breach of the pledge that NATO made when signing the Founding Act to the effect that the North Atlantic Alliance nations would refrain from stationing major military forces in the vicinity of the Russian border.

We will keep a close eye on the situation, and negotiate the issue with our NATO partners to get their interpretation of the commitment to that end and have them outline the parameters of specific combat forces in the form of legally binding agreements between Russia and NATO, the Deputy Russian Foreign Minister added. 

It transpired earlier today that Poland has deployed a foreign military base, namely a battery of US Patriot missiles in the small town of Morong, 80 kilometres away from the Russian border.