The withdrawal of the United States from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range Missiles (IRNFT) was a huge mistake, said George Schultz, who served as United States Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989, in an interview with The New York Times.
“Quitting the IRNFT was a giant mistake”, – he said in an October 31 article in the American newspaper.
“We have lost not only the contract itself, but also the enforcement measures that we have worked so hard to develop”, – said Schultz, who will turn 100 on 13 December.
The former state secretary spoke in favour of strengthening international cooperation in order to implement the necessary reforms that are needed in the fields of education, migration policy, national security, technology and economics.
“The current state of relations seems so frustrated that it makes it difficult to achieve any of the goals set”, – he said, criticising the position of the US Presidential Administration, Donald Trump, on compliance with international treaties.
“They seem sceptical of any agreements. In general, agreements are rarely ideal. You can’t get everything you want. You have to give in a little. Such compromises are much better than nothing”, – added Schultz.
He stressed that he had hoped for the Trump Administration’s desire to extend the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms with the Russian Federation.
As previously reported, on 26 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to the US and NATO, as a new step to de-escalate the situation in Europe in the context of the collapse of the Treaty on Medium and Short Range Missiles, measures to verify US Aegis ABM systems with Mk-41 launchers, as well as the Russian Federation.