The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday broke its silence about the United States' deployment of Patriot missiles in Poland, criticizing the move as not helping security or trust.
"Such military activity does not help to strengthen our mutual security, to develop relations of trust and predictability in this region," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
A Patriot surface-to-air missile battery arrived Monday in Poland and was to be deployed in the north of the country, close to the border with Kaliningrad.
"We have repeatedly stated that we do not understand the logic and sense of cooperation between the United States and Poland in this sphere," the ministry said. "We note with regret that our questions to the Polish and U.S. sides have remained unanswered, as well as our arguments in favor of temporarily moving the deployment region as far as possible from Russian borders."
There was no immediate hint of any retaliatory Russian move to the Patriot deployment in the Foreign Ministry statement.
Poland hailed the deployment as an important boost for its national security.
"We in Poland see the deployment of the Patriot battery here as a move toward strengthening our national security and ties with America," Defense Minister Bogdan Klich told a welcoming ceremony also attended by U.S. Ambassador Lee Feinstein.
The battery, manned by up to 150 U.S. troops, will be stationed for about one month four times a year in Morag, northern Poland, close to Kaliningrad. Its stated main mission is to train Polish military personnel.
Russia is wary about the deployment of U.S. troops and military hardware near its borders, though its Defense Ministry in January denied suggestions that it might boost its Baltic Fleet in response to the Patriot deployment in Poland.