BRUSSELS - Secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said Wednesday that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's proposal of deploying missiles to counter NATO's missile defense system is "very disappointing."

"Such deployments would be reminiscent of the past and are inconsistent with the strategic relations NATO and Russia have agreed they seek and with the spirit of the dialogue, including on missile defense issues, that they are currently conducting," Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement.

Still, Rasmussen welcomed Medvedev's "willingness not to close the door on continued dialogue with NATO and the US on missile defense and to consider practical cooperation in this area."

"Cooperation on missile defense would clearly show that NATO and Russia can build security together, not against each other...It would show that cooperation, not confrontation, is the way ahead," he said.

Medvedev warned on Wednesday that Russia will deploy its striking Iskander missiles in the enclave of Kaliningrad and other areas, aimed at NATO missile interceptor batteries, if Russia and NATO fail to reach a deal on the missile defence.

In the statement, Rasmussen repeated NATO's stance that its missile defense system is designed to ward off threats coming from outside Europe, not to alter the balance of deterrence inside Europe.

Russia believes the US-led system is a threat to its nuclear deterrence and will make it vulnerable to a first strike. Russia and NATO have agreed to cooperate on the European missile defense system at the Lisbon summit last November. However, talks have been deadlocked.

Russia has insisted that the system should be run jointly and NATO should give a legal guarantee in writing that Russia will not be targeted, which has been rejected by NATO.