ZCZC
BFF-30
EU-RUSSIA-ARMAMENT-TREATY-US-WRAP
Germany says missile treaty dead as Europe frets about arms race
BUCHAREST, Feb 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Germany said Friday that Russia had “de
facto invalidated” a landmark Cold War missile reduction treaty which the US
is poised to abandon, with Europe anxious at the prospect of a new arms race.
A US deadline for Russia to come back into compliance with the
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty expires on Saturday but
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will reportedly announce the pullout as early
as Friday.
Western capitals say a new Russian medium-range missile system breaches
the terms of the 1987 treaty and puts European cities at risk.
Heiko Maas, the German foreign minister who has shuttled between Moscow
and Washington in recent weeks trying to save the INF treaty, said Russia was
still in breach. – ‘Clear lesson’ –
“We must note that the INF treaty has been violated by the Russian side and
that the appeals of the last 60 days for more transparency and more
information have come to nothing,” Maas said as he arrived for talks with
fellow EU foreign ministers in Bucharest.
“A treaty to which two contracting states belong and which has been
violated by one side has de facto been invalidated”.
Lithuania and Latvia — Baltic states keenly aware of the threat from their
giant neighbour Russia — backed Washington’s expected withdrawal.
“Treaties are important if parties are complying to the treaties. If there
are breaches, the value of the treaty is questioned,” Lithuanian Foreign
Minister Linas Linkevicius said, adding there was “clear evidence” of Russia
breaching the treaty.
The INF accord, signed by then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet
leader Mikhail Gorbachev, banned ground-launched missiles with a range of 500
to 5,500 kilometres and ended a dangerous build-up of warheads in Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of a new arms race if the
treaty collapses — a prospect that has alarmed some European nations.
Russia on Friday said it regretted Washington’s planned exit from the
treaty and expected to receive formal notice from the United States shortly.
“We all regret that in the coming days this decision will most likely be
implemented,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
“A decision to move to break the treaty was made in Washington a long time
ago.”
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said history had taught his
country “a very clear lesson”.
“This clear lesson is whenever there was a conflict between east and west,
we central Europeans always lost,” he said.
“We as Hungary I don’t think we have too much leverage in this issue. We
can just cross fingers for a more pragmatic cooperation between east and
west.”
Pompeo announced in December that the US would start the six-month process
to quit the INF if Russia did not withdraw its 9M729 missile system by
February 2, using the period to start work on new missiles.
While all 29 NATO allies have endorsed the US view that Russia is in
breach of the treaty, differences have emerged over how to respond.
– ‘More complicated’ –
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said withdrawing was “not the
right response”, arguing that leaving the treaty would not “succeed in
putting more pressure” on Moscow.
Asked if Russia was to blame for the INF being in jeopardy, Karin Kneissl,
the Austrian foreign minister, who is close to Putin, said it was “a bit more
complicated” than that, pointing to Moscow’s concerns about China, which is
not bound by the treaty.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said military commanders will begin
preparing for “a world without an INF treaty” but insisted the alliance was
still committed to arms reduction.
Russia insists the missile system complies with the treaty, and displayed
it to foreign military officials and media last week in a bid to allay
concerns.
BSS/AFP/RY/1655 hrs