The Russian Foreign Ministry has sharply criticized
NATO’s Secretary General for intervening in the row over the INF nuclear
missile treaty, pointing out that NATO was not a signatory, but that the
alliance’s member states could always join.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has sharply criticized NATO’s
Secretary General after he intervened in the row over the INF Treaty that
banned certain ballistic and cruise missiles, pointing out that NATO was not a
signatory to the treaty, but that the alliance’s member states could always
join it.
Moscow’s rebuff came after a statement on Wednesday by NATO Secretary General perplexed Russian diplomats.
“The United States has
briefed the North Atlantic Council on its determination that the Russian
Federation is in violation of its obligations under the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty,”
Rasmussen’s statement said.
Rasmussen stressed that the treaty “has a special
place in history” and that Russia “should work constructively to resolve
this critical treaty issue” and preserve its viability “by returning to
full compliance in a verifiable manner.”
“Continuing to
uphold the treaty strengthens the security of all, including Russia,”
Rasmussen said.
In reply, Russia’s Foreign Ministry “not without a
bit of surprise” questioned why Rasmussen was commenting on a treaty NATO
was not a party to.
"We hope that Secretary-General is not going to
dispute the fact that this Treaty was signed in December 1987 between the USSR
and the US, not between the USSR and NATO or Russia and NATO,” the ministry
said in a statement.
If NATO’s chief is truly concerned with meeting the
obligations this treaty imply, he should better “address a NATO member state
that signed this treaty,” the ministry said, referring to the US.
Diplomats in Moscow pointed out that all major problems
with implementation of the INF Treaty are primarily caused by the US, such as
the launches of target missiles, development of armed UAVs, and deployment of
Naval Mk-41 platforms capable of launching medium-range cruise missiles.
“We will pursue further
elimination of the aforementioned concerns,” Russian diplomats said, calling on Rasmussen to help to make other
NATO member states join the treaty to give it a truly multilateral status.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty
signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in
1987 obliged the two sides “not to possess, produce, or flight-test a
ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,500
kilometers, or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles,” Rasmussen
said in his statement.
On Tuesday, US President Barack Obama accused Russia of violating the nuclear weapons reduction treaty.
The exchange of accusations between Moscow and
Washington is taking place against the background of worsening bilateral
relations, primarily over Ukraine.
The US and EU have introduced several stages of economic
sanctions against Moscow, including those against whole sectors of the Russian economy.
Moscow have promised that the US will feel “tangible losses” from what it called “destructive,
myopic” sanctions and expressed its disappointment with the EU’s inability to act
independently from Washington in the international arena.
Source: Russia Today 31-07-2014
