Russia's top general said Thursday that Moscow may be forced to disable NATO's planned missile defense system in Europe.

Army General Nikolay Makarov told an international conference on missile defense in Moscow that a pre-emptive strike could be utilized to physically destroy the missile systems.

Makarov added that he hoped the use of weapons of destruction would be a measure of last resort in response to the deployment of a missile shield throughout Europe.

Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said that Russia, NATO and the U.S. have not been successful in finding a “mutually acceptable solution.”

Moscow has rejected the U.S. position that the plan is to protect against potential threats from Iran and says that later in its development, the missile shield would be capable of undermining Russia's nuclear deterrent.