If Russia will continue to violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty after August 2, it can expect a “measured, defensive” response by NATO, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated on Thursday.
The INF Treaty collapsed in February when the US government announced that it will pull out of the agreement, a move that was copied by Russia in March. If both countries don’t change course, the agreement will be officially defunct by August of this year. Russia has already announced the development of new missiles that are in “clear violation of the treaty” according to Stoltenberg. The NATO chief hopes Russia will come back to compliance, but acknowledged that he sees “no signs whatsoever” that Moscow plans to do so. As a result “we have to be prepared for a world without the INF treaty and with more Russian missiles,” Stoltenberg told the BBC.
Read more: Nato chief calls on Russia to save INF nuclear missile treaty
