Moscow must take advantage of the last chance in order to preserve the Treaty on Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF). This statement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in his article for the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).

"Otherwise, she (Russia. - RT ) will bear sole responsibility for his (DRDM) disappearance," - said the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance.

At the same time, Stoltenberg is confident that in reality Moscow has long tried to “free” from the treaty, and it was the Russian side’s violation of the terms of the agreement that became the basis for Washington’s withdrawal from the INF Treaty at the beginning of this year. The NATO Secretary General also added that all the countries participating in the alliance share the version of the American leadership on the situation with the INF.

  • Jens Stoltenberg
  • Reuters
  • © Francois Walschaerts

“In turn, the United States is fully fulfilling its obligations under the agreement. There are no new American missiles in Europe, but there are new Russian ones. NATO is not going to develop and deploy medium-range ground-based missiles in Europe. We will not behave like Russia, ”Stoltenberg said, adding that the security of all of Europe is now at stake.
In addition, NATO claims that Russia has managed not only to develop, but even to deploy new medium-range nuclear missiles, allegedly violating the conditions of the INF.

This is not the first attack on Russia by the US allies in recent days. On the eve, the head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, appealed to Moscow immediately to take action to preserve the INF.

“We urge the Russian Federation to effectively respond to serious concerns regarding the development, flight testing and deployment of ground-based 9M729 missile systems, as well as to the serious concerns about the incompatibility of this system with the provisions of the INF Treaty,” the European Council website said. .

Representatives of the North Atlantic Alliance made similar requests to Russia during the Russia-NATO Council meeting held earlier this month.

Commenting on the results of the negotiations, Jens Soltenberg warned of the alliance’s readiness to "respond" to the actions of Moscow.

“If Russia does not return to the observance of the treaty, then we will respond - and we will do it in a defensive manner,” the Alliance Secretary General said.

According to experts, Washington is now seeking to present the situation as if it were Russia that was responsible for the destruction of the INF.

“Such expressions as the“ last chance for Russia ”, which the NATO Secretary General says, fit perfectly into this concept. NATO constantly appeals to the fact that the fate of the agreement depends on Moscow, which allegedly became the culprit for the dissolution of the INF Treaty, ”said Sergey Ermakov, an expert of the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, in an interview with RT.

A similar point of view is held by the head of the department of political science and sociology of the PRUE. G.V. Plekhanov, political analyst Andrei Koshkin.

“The phrase about the“ last chance ”for Russia is simply a verbal device designed to convince a European audience that Russia is the cause of the destruction of the INF Treaty, said the expert in an interview with RT.

Deterrence Treaty

Recall, the Treaty on Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF), signed by Moscow and Washington in 1987, obliged both powers to abandon the production and deployment of ground-based missiles with a range from 500 to 5500 km.

Being the legal successor of the USSR, Russia over the past decades has been following the terms of the treaty. However, the US side insists on the opposite: the allegedly 9M729 cruise missile, which is in service with the Iskander operational tactical missile systems (PTRK), is capable of covering a distance of more than 500 kilometers.

  • General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan sign an agreement on the elimination of medium and short-range missiles
  • RIA News
  • © Yuri Abramochkin

The 9M729 rocket is a modernized version of the 9M728 rocket, the development of which was started as early as the late 1990s on the basis of the Novator Design Bureau (Ekaterinburg), and the 9M728 was adopted in 2009.

Commenting on missile test launches in 2007, Sergei Ivanov, who was then the first deputy prime minister, explained that the new missile is capable of overcoming all existing and future missile defense systems.

“Therefore, from the point of view of defense security, Russians can look at the future simply calmly,” Ivanov said.

The maximum flight range of the 9M728 missile is 490 kilometers; for the 9M729, this figure is 480 km. However, the American side refuses to believe in it and accuses Russia of violating the provisions of the INF. In early 2017, the American edition of The New York Times announced that Moscow allegedly secretly deploying land-based missiles that violate the terms of the contract. At the same time, the publication referred to anonymous sources in the administration of President Putin.

In 2018, the head of the White House, Donald Trump, declared Washington’s willingness to withdraw from the INF Treaty on the grounds that Russia allegedly did not comply with its conditions. In early 2019, these threats were implemented - the United States unilaterally froze its participation in the INF. Moscow tried to slow down the collapse of the treaty; in January, the Russian Defense Ministry even held a special briefing at which the military showed the 9M729 missile and reported its key parameters. However, representatives of the United States ignored the event.

According to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the decision of the American leadership to exit the INF Treaty was a step towards shaking the entire system of international security agreements. As a result, Moscow was forced to take a symmetrical step - in early July, the Russian president signed a law on the suspension of participation in the INF.

"Few reflects the real situation"

The prospect of the dissolution of the INF Treaty from the very beginning has caused serious concern in Europe. Last December, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Washington should not deploy its medium-range missiles with nuclear warheads on European territory.

“By no means should Europe become a platform for discussions on arms buildup. The deployment of medium-range missiles in Germany would be met with great discontent, ”the minister said in an interview with the German news agency DPA. Earlier, the diplomat emphasized that the compliance of Russia and the United States with the Treaty on Medium and Shorter-Range Missiles most favored Europe.

  • Rocket 9M729
  • RIA News
  • © Vladimir Astapkovich

“We in Europe primarily benefit from this treaty, so we are extremely interested in its continued compliance,” Maas explained.

According to experts, although initially many European politicians were aware that the initiative to terminate the INF Treaty did not come from Moscow, over time, Washington was able to change the position of European allies in a way that was beneficial for them.

“The Americans ignored the interests of Europe and calmly withdrew from the INF. At first, European countries show discontent, seeing that the situation is unfavorable for the Old World. Therefore, Washington simply made a leash in the information field, accusing Russia of everything. Statements such as Jens Stoltenberg’s statement are part of this performance. Today, this performance continues, and in it all the actors are already singing one song to the accompaniment of Washington, ”said Andrei Koshkin.

Sergey Yermakov agrees with him. As the expert noted, from the statement of Stoltenberg it can be concluded that the position of the United States on the INF Treaty already prevails in NATO.

“American diplomats and politicians succeeded in“ pushing through ”the Europeans and adjusting them in the way that benefits Washington. This approach reflects little the real state of affairs, but the main thing for the States is to demonize Russia and place all the blame on it, ”says Sergey Yermakov.

According to the expert, Stoltenberg did not accidentally declare a threat to Europe - these accusations are intended to set up a European society against Russia and substantiate the militaristic rhetoric addressed to it.

“Contrary to formal statements, the United States is now preparing the ground for locating its own short- and medium-range missiles in Europe. For this, the NATO Secretary General declares some allegedly deployed Russian nuclear missile system. From his words it follows that the alliance should give an answer to these actions of Moscow. But the truth is that Russia is not armed with such systems - Moscow did not violate the INF Treaty, ”summed up Sergey Ermakov.