NATO chief says alliance does not seek new Cold War

WASHINGTON

NATO does not want a new Cold War with Russia, nor does it seek a renewed arms race, but the transatlantic alliance cannot be "naive" to the dangers Russia poses, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.

Addressing a rare joint session of Congress, the top NATO official called on Moscow to return to compliance with a key ballistic missile treaty aimed at preventing nuclear war in Europe.

Stoltenberg said despite repeated calls for Russia to return to compliance with the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, "Russia has taken no steps to do so, and time is running out."

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the INF Treaty in February, citing Russian violations of the agreement, and starting a six-month clock for Moscow to return to compliance or see the U.S. formally exit.

Russia's violations, Stoltenberg said, pose acute dangers for Europe as new missiles Russia has deployed to Europe "are mobile, hard to detect, nuclear-capable, cut the warning time to just minutes, and reduce the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.

"There are no new American missiles in Europe, but there are new Russian missiles,” he said. "An agreement that is only respected by one side will not keep us safe."

Russia has denied being in non-compliance with the INF's terms. But Washington and its NATO allies point to its development of the Novator 9M729 cruise missile, also known within NATO as SSC-8.

The INF treaty bans Washington and Moscow from developing, producing and deploying new land-based ballistic missiles with ranges between 310 and 3,400 miles (500 and 5,500 kilometers).

Trump left the door open to the U.S. remaining in the agreement if Russia returns to compliance by destroying all of its violating missiles, launchers, and associated equipment. But Russia has shown no signs of doing so with President Vladimir Putin instead suspending Russian participation in the agreement.

Stoltenberg vowed that while NATO must be prepared for a world without the INF treaty it will not "mirror" Russian actions, and said the alliance "has no intention of deploying land-based nuclear missiles in Europe."

"We will be measured and coordinated," he said. "NATO will always take the necessary steps to provide credible and effective deterrence."