The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is considered a cornerstone achievement in the arms world. After the cold war, both Russia and the United States signed a treaty under which they would stop the development of short to intermediate nuclear missiles.
The End of INF Treaty Is Not a Good Thing for EU
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg while talking to the media said” the INF Treaty had played a major role in preventing the advancement of nuclear arms significantly. The end of this treaty would have catastrophic effects on world peace and Europe in particular.”
The end of this treaty would give birth to new conventional and unconventional air defense systems. Which in the future may be used against the EU and its allies in case of a dispute or force to bend them to their will.
Russian Refusal Will Force Us To Take Defensive Measures
The secretary-general while calling on Russia to come back on to the negotiating table warned that a refusal would force NATO to take strict actions against it. The US President Donald Trump in an announcement told the NATO that after February the US would not abide by the Treaty as Russia has violated the terms of the agreement.
Russia while refuting the claims had announced that it planned to build new long and short-range missiles. Stoltenberg, while commenting on this said: “the disintegration of this treaty will allow Russia and the US to conduct air defense drills that may lead to increased aggression between the two.”
Stoltenberg further stated that they were doing their best to bring both the countries back to the negotiation table and preparing minimum agreeable terms on which both the countries could agree.
The EU Must Prepare for a Future with More Russian Missiles
Russians missiles are nuclear-capable, hard to detect and above all can reach the EU within minutes. So With the absence of the treaty, the EU has to prepare for a world with more Russian missiles which can destroy and target any country in the EU within a matter of minutes.
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