BRUSSELS, Belgium (APTN/CNN) – Tensions with Russia and Iran were the focus of NATO leaders ahead of a meeting tomorrow Wednesday of the alliance’s defense ministers.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday that the defense ministers are set to endorse a list of measures against Russia if it refuses to comply with a major cold war-era missile treaty.
Stoltenberg declined to say what steps NATO will take, although they are likely to involve military and political measures. “And there are just five weeks left for Russia to save the [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] treaty,” Stoltenberg said. “So, tomorrow we will decide on NATO’s next steps, in the event that Russia does not comply. Our response will be defensive, measured and coordinated. We will not mirror what Russia does, we do not intend to deploy new land-based nuclear missiles in Europe. We do not want a new arms race.”
The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kay Bailey Hutchison, commented on recent tensions between the U.S. and Iran. She said the Trump administration would continue to use diplomatic pressure, hoping for “normalization” of the situation but stressed that the U.S. would not allow more provocations from Iran.
“We are continuing diplomacy, but we are continuing to be firm that Iran cannot continue to say and threaten that they are going to move forward on nuclear capabilities,” Hutchison explained. “That is a threat that we must hear.”
The U.S. announced in February that it will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty it agreed with the Soviet Union in 1987, blaming Russian violations of the pact, and is set to leave on August 2nd.
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