Russia: U.S. missile shield in Romania flouts nuclear treaty

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the U.S. installation of a European missile defense shield in Romania, due to go live on Thursday, was a violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Interfax reported. The shield is on the verge of being activated almost a decade after Washington proposed protecting NATO from Iranian rockets and despite Russian warnings that the West is threatening the peace in central Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the decision to install the shield in Romania was a mistake and directly affected Russia's national security. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Andrew Osborn)