Russia: "If No NATO Expansion Pact, Nuclear Missiles Will Be Deployed in Europe"

Diplomatic Pressure Over NATO and Ukraine Issue Talks
Concerns Over Nuclear Force Standoff if US and Ukraine Fail to Reach Agreement

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russia has pressured Western countries by warning that it may deploy Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) missiles along its European borders if NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) does not pledge to halt its expansion of member states. The Russian government’s statement comes as follow-up talks with NATO are being prepared after a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and is seen as a strategic move to gain leverage in future negotiations. Some experts express concerns that, with the recent reactivation of the U.S. Army Field Artillery Command in Germany, the U.S. might also deploy INF missiles, raising fears that nuclear weapons from the two superpowers could once again face off in Europe as during the Cold War.

On the 13th (local time), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned in an interview with Russia’s RIA news agency, "If there is no progress in political and diplomatic solutions to prevent NATO’s expansion, we will have no choice but to respond militarily," adding, "We may have to deploy INF in Europe."

The INF refers to intermediate-range nuclear ballistic missiles with ranges between 1,000 and 5,500 kilometers. Following the 1987 INF Treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union, all such missiles were withdrawn from Europe. Although former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally announced the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty in 2019, INF missiles have not been redeployed in Europe since then.

Ryabkov’s remarks are interpreted as a move to pressure NATO countries through strong rhetoric amid preparations for follow-up talks on the Ukraine issue with NATO nations after the virtual summit between Presidents Biden and Putin on the 7th.

Gerhard Mangott, an expert on Russian foreign policy and arms control at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, analyzed that Russia’s warning is "a final signal to NATO that negotiations on a freeze agreement must begin," and suggested that "Russia may have already deployed this system west of the Ural Mountains."

Last month, the U.S. government also announced the reactivation of the Field Artillery Command in Wiesbaden, Germany, where U.S. forces are stationed, which had previously deployed Pershing missiles?INF weapons?during the Cold War. This has heightened concerns that the U.S. and Russia might redeploy nuclear forces in Europe and confront each other as they did during the Cold War.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.