Russia: We Will Target U.S. Allies if Nuke Treaty Collapses
COLD WAR
Response to U.S. threat to pull out of arms treaty.
MLADEN ANTONOV
Russia will target countries hosting U.S. missiles with unspecified measures if Washington goes ahead with plans to pull out of a landmark Cold War arms treaty, Russia’s General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov said Wednesday. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has accused Russia of non-compliance with the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which bans deployment of ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 kilometers (310 miles) to 5,500 kilometers (3,400 miles). Russia denies breaching the agreement and has said it wants to hold talks with the U.S. on preserving it, but Gerasimov said, “the countries that accommodate U.S. systems of intermediate-range and short-range missiles will become the targets of Russian responsive measures” in the event the treaty collapses.
