Against the background of the fact that the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, through the efforts of Washington, ceased to exist, Russian leader Vladimir Putin proposed banning the deployment of this type of weapon in Europe, which has already found a response in the EU.
As News Front previously reported, in order to maintain global stability, the Russian president sent letters to key countries in Europe and Asia with a proposal to discuss a moratorium on the deployment of missiles previously subject to the INF Treaty. The North Atlantic Alliance then reported that the letter was received, but they refused to discuss it.
Nevertheless, the proposal of the Russian leader interested French President Emanuel Macron, who was ready to discuss the introduction of restrictions.
According to the publication “Frankfurter Allgemeine”, on October 23, the French president replied to his Russian counterpart, offering to study the issue in detail and consider the work both in a bilateral format and in an expanded one.
The agreement on the elimination of intermediate and shorter-range missiles ceased to exist on August 2 after the termination procedure initiated by Washington. The United States accused Russia of “violating” the INF Treaty during the creation of the 9M729 missile. Since 2014, the American administration claimed that the parameters of the rocket allegedly go beyond the limits allowed by the agreement. It was these accusations that Donald Trump used last fall when he announced the termination of the INF Treaty. Many countries, including the US allies opposed such a move. Russia also called for a constructive solution and even convened an international briefing to demonstrate the characteristics of the 9M729 missile, refuting groundless accusations. However, the United States and other NATO countries ignored the invitation. In the end, the United States succeeded.