INF Treaty collapse: Russia holds Nato responsible, asks it not to follow US blindly

Moscow, Feb 5: Amid the growing tension between the US and Russia over the undoing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Moscow has lashed out at the Nato saying it was directly responsible for the collapse of the key treaty, thanks to its plans to deploy American missile defence systems to its member states.

In a statement issued on Monday, February 4, the Russian foreign ministry said: "Unfortunately, Alliance member states have demonstrated that they are not ready for a substantive dialogue on the Mk-41 missile launchers, which are deployed to Romania and are planned to be deployed to Poland next year in breach of the INF Treaty."

"These systems are part of NATO's missile defenses so the Alliance is directly responsible for the destruction of the Treaty."

The Nato, which had urged the Kremlin to abide by the INF Treaty last year after US President Donald Trump had warned of a pull-out, also vowed to have a constructive relationship with the Vladimir Putin administration even after the US withdrew from the treaty last week.

Moscow also asked Nato to avoid turning Europe into an arena of confrontation which is a certainty if American launchers were set up in Poland, the Russian foreign ministry said after the Nato Council's statement over the situation related to the INF Treaty.

"If the United States' European allies are really interested in preserving effective international control over weapons, disarmament and non-proliferation, they should not blindly follow US policies of attaining military supremacy," the foreign ministry said, TASS News Agency reported.