According to US Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison, Russia has to halt its development of new 9M729 nuclear-capable missiles.
“It is time now for Russia to come to the table and stop the violations,” Hutchison told reporters in Brussels, where US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will later meet his NATO counterparts.
She also noted that the US has no intentions of violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), adding, however, that it could occur because of Russia.
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“There will come a point in the future in which America will determine that it has to move forward with a development phase that is not allowed by the treaty right now,” Hutchison said.
Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia to be more transparent and to explain its alleged breaches of the INF Treaty.
Tensions and Accusations
Addressing the NATO stance on the INF, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned about the perils of “aggressive rhetoric.”
“It seems people who make such statements do not realize the degree of their responsibility and the danger of aggressive rhetoric. Who authorized the lady to make such statements? The American people? Do ordinary people in the United States know that the so-called diplomats paid out of their pocket behave aggressively and destructively?” Zakharova told reporters.
The 1987 INF Treaty…
