NATO and Russia did not make significant progress on saving the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in talks at the alliance headquarters on Friday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Barring a last-minute decision by Russia to destroy a new medium-range missile that NATO says violates the INF, the United States is set to pull out of the accord on August 2, arguing that it needs to develop its own warheads to deter Moscow.
Moscow says it is fully compliant with the INF treaty negotiated by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, which eliminated the medium-range missile arsenals of the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
“We have not seen any signs of a breakthrough,” Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, a closed-door forum that allows for dialogue between the two sides’ diplomats and officials.
The display shows the results of the voting on a bill suspending Russia's compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) during a session at the Federation Council, Russian Parliament's upper chamber, Moscow, Russia, June 26, 2019. /VCG Photo
Stoltenberg said the chances of a resolution were “going down, day by day,” but that NATO had not given up on trying to convince Moscow to destroy the SSC-8 ground-launched cruise missile, which it says is covered by the treaty ban on land-based missiles with a range of 500 km to 5,500 km.
"We must prepare for a world without INF, which will be less stable," Stoltenberg said.
He added that defense ministers looked at options including more exercises, using conventional weapons, as well as improving intelligence, surveillance and air defense.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law suspending the INF Treaty, which was backed by parliament last month. The law was published on the government portal for legal information on July 3.
A slide showing the United States' Hera target missile at a briefing for military attaches and international media by the Russian Defence Ministry at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Centre in Kubinka, Moscow Region, on the 9M729 missile system, January 23, 2019. /VCG Photo
The INF Treaty was signed by then U.S. president Ronald Reagan and former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, in a bid to halt the proliferation of nuclear and conventional missiles.
The treaty also marked the first time the two Cold War superpowers agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals, eliminate an entire category of nuclear weapons, and utilize extensive on-site inspections for verification.
In February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would leave the INF Treaty after six months as a "mirror response" to the U.S..