"Russia Violated INF Treaty, Deployed Nuclear-Capable Missiles"
The United States believes that Russia is secretly developing and deploying nuclear-capable, medium-range missiles in violation of the INF Treaty, US Secretary of Defense Mattis said at a meeting of the NATO Nuclear Planning Group
Dan Arkin
| 13/12/2017
Photo: AP
According to evidence gathered by US intelligence agencies, Russia is in the process of secretly deploying nuclear-armed medium-range ballistic missiles. According to Der Spiegel, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis shared this information last week during a secret meeting of the NATO Nuclear Planning Group at NATO's headquarters in Brussels.
With the help of satellite imagery, the US believes it is able for the first time to prove that Moscow has developed a new ground-launched, nuclear-capable cruise missile known as the SSC-8. Washington claims to have observed at least two operational units outfitted with the missiles.
Should the US information prove accurate, it would serve as a proof of a clear violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), which bans medium-range nuclear missiles. The treaty was signed 30 years ago by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan and called for the destruction of all ground-based launch systems for nuclear warheads with a range of between 500 and 5,000 kilometers.
According to the report, Washington has issued its allies an ultimatum: By the alliance summit in the summer of 2018, NATO must find a common position on forcing the Russians to return to INF Treaty compliance, with coercion if necessary. Should NATO prove unable to agree on a course of action including possible punitive measures, Mattis warned that the United States would push ahead on its own. "What it would mean for the US to go it alone under a White House led by Donald Trump is something nobody wants to think about," said one NATO diplomat.
While Mattis provided his peers with evidence that the Russian units are in possession of the missiles, not all alliance members agree that sufficient proof exists of Russia's alleged violation of the treaty. According to Mattis, other NATO member states have also obtained intelligence about the Russian developments – a fact that was confirmed by Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis. A source in Berlin told Der Spiegel that the German government considers the US intelligence material to be credible, but final proof is still lacking.
The United States believes that Russia is secretly developing and deploying nuclear-capable, medium-range missiles in violation of the INF Treaty, US Secretary of Defense Mattis said at a meeting of the NATO Nuclear Planning Group
Photo: AP
According to evidence gathered by US intelligence agencies, Russia is in the process of secretly deploying nuclear-armed medium-range ballistic missiles. According to Der Spiegel, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis shared this information last week during a secret meeting of the NATO Nuclear Planning Group at NATO's headquarters in Brussels.
With the help of satellite imagery, the US believes it is able for the first time to prove that Moscow has developed a new ground-launched, nuclear-capable cruise missile known as the SSC-8. Washington claims to have observed at least two operational units outfitted with the missiles.
Should the US information prove accurate, it would serve as a proof of a clear violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), which bans medium-range nuclear missiles. The treaty was signed 30 years ago by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan and called for the destruction of all ground-based launch systems for nuclear warheads with a range of between 500 and 5,000 kilometers.
According to the report, Washington has issued its allies an ultimatum: By the alliance summit in the summer of 2018, NATO must find a common position on forcing the Russians to return to INF Treaty compliance, with coercion if necessary. Should NATO prove unable to agree on a course of action including possible punitive measures, Mattis warned that the United States would push ahead on its own. "What it would mean for the US to go it alone under a White House led by Donald Trump is something nobody wants to think about," said one NATO diplomat.
While Mattis provided his peers with evidence that the Russian units are in possession of the missiles, not all alliance members agree that sufficient proof exists of Russia's alleged violation of the treaty. According to Mattis, other NATO member states have also obtained intelligence about the Russian developments – a fact that was confirmed by Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis. A source in Berlin told Der Spiegel that the German government considers the US intelligence material to be credible, but final proof is still lacking.
