Germany Interested In Russia's Proposals On Preserving INF Treaty - Foreign Ministry
Fakhir Rizvi Published January 16, 2019 | 07:36 PM
Berlin is interested in Moscow's concrete proposals aimed at preserving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), German Federal Foreign Office spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said on Wednesday
Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that during the talks in Geneva on Tuesday, Russian diplomats made practical proposals to the United States that would allow the latter to examine at an expert level the 9M729 missile, which they suspect of breaching the treaty. Washington, however, did not want to look at the proposals, he said.
"If the Russian side has real proposals on how to move toward preserving the treaty, it is interesting, we want and should talk about it," Adebahr said at a briefing.
She added that Berlin supported US-Russia negotiations that would be aimed at keeping the treaty in force.
The statement comes as German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas plans to arrive in Moscow on Friday for talks with Lavrov.
According to the Federal Foreign Office, the top diplomats would discuss the INF Treaty's future, among other things.
US President Donald Trump said in October he wanted to pull the country from the treaty. In early December, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would suspend its adherence to the INF Treaty within 60 days unless Russia returned to full compliance with the agreement.
Moscow has repeatedly refuted US allegations that it has violated the 1987 INF treaty, which bans ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (311 to 3,417 miles). In turn, Moscow has complained that launchers on US defense systems in Europe can fire cruise missiles at ranges that violate the INF's terms.
In recent years, Moscow and Washington have regularly accused each other of violating the INF Treaty. Russia has repeatedly stated that it strictly complies with its obligations.
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