Russia pledges to "restore" the military balance if the US renounces the nuclear arms pact

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Monday it would be forced to react in this way to restore the military balance with the United States if President Donald Trump threatened to break the nuclear arms treaty and to develop new missiles.

But Moscow said it may be ready to give ground, a senior official told Trump's national security advisor, John Bolton, that Russia is ready to respond to US concerns about implementation of the 1987 Nuclear Forces Treaty.

In Washington, the US president reiterated his concern over the treaty, telling reporters: "Russia has not joined the deal. … When they do, we'll all be smart and we'll all stop. "

He added that China should also be included in the agreement and that as long as all parties continue to try to develop new intermediate nuclear weapons, "there will be no one left. who is close to us ".

Trump issued a warning about Moscow's "technical-military" retaliation after announcing on Saturday that Washington would pull out of the Cold War pact that rids Europe of land-based nuclear missiles.

Signed by the then president, Ronald Reagan, and Soviet reformist leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the treaty provided for the elimination of all short-range and medium-range land-based nuclear and conventional missiles held by both countries. 39; Europe.

His disappearance could point to a new arms race. Gorbachev, 87, is now fragile and warned that catastrophic consequences could result.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump's withdrawal plan was deeply troubling to Moscow. "Such measures can make the world more dangerous," he told reporters during a conference call.

Despite repeated Russian refusals, US authorities believe that Moscow is developing and has deployed a system launched on the ground, in violation of the treaty, which could allow it to trigger a nuclear strike against Europe in a short time. .

Trump said the United States would develop equivalent weapons unless Russia and China agree on a halt to development. China is not party to the treaty.

Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that the disappearance of the treaty would force Moscow to take specific military measures. "Abolishing the provisions of the INF Treaty forces Russia to take measures for its own safety, because what does it mean to abandon the INF Treaty?" Peskov said.

"This means that the US is not disguising itself, but is openly starting to develop these systems in the future, and if these systems are in development, action is needed from other countries. , in this case Russia, to restore balance in this area. . "

BOLTON IN MOSCOW

Bolton met in Moscow with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

In comments made public after his meetings, Bolton denied Russian allegations that the United States would have taken advantage of the threat of treaty withdrawal to blackmail Russia.

Washington has not yet made a decision on the deployment of missiles in Europe to Moscow in case the NIF treaty is abandoned, said the Russian news agency RIA quoted.

Bolton said Russia was violating its commitments under the pact, an allegation refuted by Moscow.

In any case, he added, a bilateral treaty no longer met the realities of today because unlike the cold war, many states were now developing intermediate-range nuclear missiles. These states, he said, include China and North Korea.

"The next step is the consultation of our friends from Europe and Asia," Bolton told Ekho Moskvy radio station, adding that consultations with Russia will continue.

The Russian Security Council said that Patrushev insisted on Moscow's view that the INF Treaty should be maintained, and tearing it apart would undermine international arms control.

"The Russian side (…) confirmed that it was willing to work together to dispel the mutual grievances regarding the implementation of the agreement," said the group in a statement.

EUROPEAN ALARM

The INF treaty required the United States and the Soviet Union to surrender all ballistic and nuclear-launched cruise missiles, with a range of 500 to 5,500 km, thus eliminating an entire category of nuclear weapons. ; weapons.

As a result, the Soviet Union scrapped hundreds of SS-20 missiles armed with nuclear warheads. Many of them had been headed to Europe.

NATO's decision to place Cruise and Pershing nuclear missiles in Europe prompted a wave of protests in the 1980s by activists who thought it would turn Europe into a potential nuclear battlefield.

The European Union has described the INF Treaty as a "pillar of the European security architecture" which has resulted in the destruction of nearly 3,000 nuclear and conventional warheads and continued to play an important role in non-proliferation.

"The United States and the Russian Federation must remain engaged in a constructive dialogue to preserve the INF Treaty," said Maja Kocijancic, EU spokeswoman for foreign affairs and security policy. "The world does not need a new arms race."

French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump on Sunday to underscore the importance of the treaty, his office said Monday. The German government regretted Trump's decision, saying that NATO should now discuss this development.

China also condemned Trump's decision, saying it was wrong to unilaterally withdraw from the treaty.