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In an interview with RIA Novosti on Monday, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov insisted that if Western nations refuse to sign a moratorium on intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) in Europe, Russia will be obliged to place the weapons in the European portion of its territory. Moscow has proposed the deal as part of a package of measures intended to defuse the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Intermediate-range nuclear weapons were banned in Europe in 1987 as part of a treaty between American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. In 2019, however, the US withdrew from the agreement, complaining that the Kremlin had already broken the terms by deploying a cruise missile – referred to by NATO as the ‘Screwdriver’ – in Russia’s European territory west of the Ural Mountains. Moscow has denied the allegation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for dialogue when the US pulled out of the agreement in 2019, saying, “We have repeatedly warned that the termination of the treaty on intermediate and short-range missiles [INF] means the region is now facing the possibility of these strike weapons appearing across its vast space, and a new arms race as a result.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for dialogue when the US pulled out of the agreement in 2019, saying, “We have repeatedly warned that the termination of the treaty on intermediate and short-range missiles [INF] means the region is now facing the possibility of these strike weapons appearing across its vast space, and a new arms race as a result.”