Stoltenberg: NATO and Russia are fully dispersed in the positions on the INF Treaty
Russia and the Alliance is fully dispersed in the positions under the Treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear forces (INF) and Ukraine, said Secretary General of the organization Jens Stoltenberg following the meeting of the Council Russia—NATO. The Alliance once again urged Russia to return to compliance with the agreement.
“On both these subjects we disagreed. And this is why the importance of this dialogue”, — quotes Mr. Stoltenberg TASS. He noted that the dialogue about the fate of the INF Treaty will continue. Defence Ministers of NATO countries will discuss the situation on 13-14 February in Brussels.
A meeting of the Council Russia—NATO began in Brussels at 9:00 GMT and lasted five hours. From the Russian side it was attended by Deputy foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Recall that in late October, the President of the United States Donald trump has announced plans to withdraw from the INF Treaty. The US believes that Russia is violating the agreement. Russia denies the charges. On 15 January in Geneva held a closed Russian-American consultations about the fate of the contract, but the parties remained dissatisfied with their results.
23 January, Russia held a briefing for foreign military attaches, where for the first time revealed some of the tactical and technical characteristics of cruise missiles, ground-based 9М729, which the Americans considered in breach of the Treaty. The U.S. and NATO, as well as the UK, France and Germany, the invitation was ignored. Later at the U.S. Embassy in Russia announced that the demonstration Washington is not persuaded. The US has invited Russia to hold talks on the sidelines of a UN meeting in Beijing next week.
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