AP News – NATO’s secretary-general warned Tuesday that the military alliance will respond to what it insists are Russia’s violation of a key Cold War-era treaty but will not station more nuclear missiles in Europe.
Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to return to compliance with Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty it agreed bilaterally with the United States in 1987. On Feb. 2, Washington launched the six-month process of leaving the INF, insisting that a missile system Russia calls the Novator 9M729 — known at NATO as the SSC-8 — breaks the pact’s range requirements.
The INF bans production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometers (310-3,400 miles).
“Any steps we take will be coordinated, measured and defensive, and we do not intend to deploy new ground-based nuclear missiles in Europe,” Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on the eve of a meeting of allied defense ministers.
