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US-DEFENCE-MISSILE
Russia’s missile treaty defiance ‘untenable’: Mattis
BRUSSELS, Oct 4, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US Defense Secretary James Mattis warned
Thursday that Washington would respond if Russia refused to end its “blatant
violation” of a Cold War nuclear arms treaty.
Mattis said the Kremlin was treating the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces
Treaty (INF) with “cavalier disregard” over a new Russian ground-launched
missile system.
The United States has said for almost two years that Russia’s 9M729 system
breaches the INF treaty, which bans mid-range missiles that had been the
subject of a mini-arms race in Europe between the Soviet Union and Washington
in the 1980s.
“Russia must return to compliance with the INF treaty or the US will need
to respond to its cavalier disregard for the treaty’s specific limits,”
Mattis said after a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.
“Make no mistake — the current situation with Russia in blatant violation
of this treaty is untenable.”
He gave no details of how the US might respond, but earlier this year
Mattis told Congress that the Pentagon was working on new low-yield nuclear
weapons in a bid to force Russia back into compliance with the INF.
The accord signed between US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev ended an alarming arms build-up in Europe triggered by
Moscow’s deployment of SS-20 nuclear missiles targeting Western European
capitals. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Russia was imperilling the
agreement, which he has called a “cornerstone” of European security.
“We believe this treaty is in danger because of Russia’s actions. After
years of denials, Russia recently acknowledged the existence of a new missile
system, called 9M729,” Stoltenberg said.
“This system is destabilising. It is a serious risk to our security.”
Without credible explanations, Stoltenberg said, the most obvious answer
was that Russia was indeed breaching the treaty, though Moscow has denied
this. The US ambassador on disarmament Robert Wood on Thursday suggested
Washington may withdraw from the INF treaty if Russia does not end its
violations.
BSS/AFP/MRU/2325hrs