NATO - Russia to hold dialogue amid Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty crisis
(Baonghean.vn) - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced that officials of the military alliance and Russia will hold dialogue this week, in the context that the future of the important arms control treaty signed during the Cold War is very fragile.
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| NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: AP |
Diplomats said the issue of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty will be on the agenda of the NATO-Russia Council meeting scheduled for January 25. The two sides will also discuss the crisis in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned that a new arms race would break out if the INF treaty collapsed, saying Europe would be the main victim.
All 29 NATO member states agree with the US assessment that the 9M729 cruise missile system capable of carrying a nuclear warhead violates the INF treaty, which bans ground-launched missiles with a range of 500-5,500 km.
Last week, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas used a visit to Moscow to lay out NATO’s position that it was up to Russia to save the treaty by destroying the missile system. Officials said Washington had raised concerns about the missile system with Moscow at least 30 times in the past five years.
In December last year, the US took the unusual step of releasing detailed evidence proving that Russian missiles violated the treaty. However, Moscow continued to deny the accusations and retaliated with accusations against Washington./.
