“I wanted to assure that the brain of NATO is dead”: in Russia, Stoltenberg’s words about the collapse of the INF Treaty were evaluated

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the destruction of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) demonstrated the "strength" of the alliance. Commenting on his words, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recalled the statement by French President Emmanuel Macron about the "brain death" of NATO.

“Mr. Stoltenberg, with this statement, wanted to once again assure everyone that NATO’s brain is dead, and there remains only a force that destroys everything crazy,” Zakharova wrote on Facebook.

Stoltenberg explained his position by saying that NATO countries were able, after intensive negotiations, to blame Russia for the destruction of the INF Treaty.

“The collapse of the INF Treaty is a bad and negative thing, but it demonstrated the strength of NATO, because as a result of intensive consultations we were able to agree that Russia violated it and coordinate our next steps,” he said.

Recall that the INF Treaty was destroyed when the United States unilaterally withdrew from it on August 2, 2019. Washington announced its decision to stop its participation in the treaty in the fall of 2018, arguing that it was allegedly in violation of the terms of the agreement by Russia. Moscow has repeatedly proposed moving towards a constructive dialogue on existing mutual claims, but the American side has not taken mutual steps.

It is the difference in the approaches of Russia and the United States on the INF Treaty that speaks of the insolvency of Stoltenberg’s statement, said Oleg Morozov, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs.

“The key point is who behaves and how. The Russian side proposed a variant of contacts, discussions, and demonstration of the corresponding equipment, to which NATO had claims. We showed this technique alive, ”he told RT. - In response to the technology show itself, the NATO generals did not come together and answered the Russian proposals in silence. Here is the answer to the question. So this is a propaganda speech, for which nothing stands. "

According to Morozov, NATO’s common position on Russia's “guilt” is due to US pressure on its alliance partners.

“Americans are intimidating their partners, fear in a sense is a unifying factor,” the senator emphasized.

At the same time, NATO countries, on the contrary, should “be responsible to the peoples of their countries for the virtually complete destruction of the European security framework,” said Yury Shvytkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma’s defense committee.

“There is no demonstration of force from NATO regarding the INF Treaty. You can change this as a weakness on the part of the bloc, ”he said in an interview with RT.

"Irresponsible US Policy"

It is worth noting that the treaty expired on August 2, and on the 19th the Pentagon announced past tests of a rocket that violates the provisions of the INF Treaty - with a range above 500 km.

“The Department of Defense conducted flight tests of a ground-based cruise missile of a conventional (non-nuclear) configuration on the island of San Nicholas, California. The test missile left the land mobile launcher and hit the target for more than 500 km, ”the US Defense Ministry said.

Russia considered such a speedy test proof that the US intentionally accused Moscow of violating the treaty in order to withdraw from it and adopt new systems. Due to the fact that the United States intends to replenish the arsenal with such missiles, the Russian Federation has also begun development in this area, said President Vladimir Putin.

“I sent an appropriate appeal to the heads of many countries of the world, we announced that we are not going to deploy medium-range missiles if they appear in our country (and we, of course, will now work on this, since the Americans have them), we we are not going to place them in those regions of the world where the corresponding complexes of American production will not appear, ”he said.

On December 12, Washington conducted new tests of a ballistic missile, which falls within the characteristics indicated in the INF Treaty. Moreover, in the United States they announced their readiness to deploy these missiles in the early 2020s.

NATO, in turn, supported the United States in these actions, Shvytkin emphasized.

“The withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty unilaterally once again showed the irresponsible and supported by the NATO bloc policy on the part of the United States. The states tried in every possible way, proceeding from the INF Treaty, to modernize the capabilities of some missiles that were subject to the treaty. That is, they violated him in a direct and rude manner, ”the deputy stated.