NATO chief slams Russia for violating nuclear arms deal

By Yusuf Hatip

BRUSSELS (AA) - The NATO Secretary-General on Wednesday slammed Russia for its behaviors in noncompliance with the nuclear arms treaty with the U.S.

"All allies agree that the United States in full compliance ... the problem, the threat, the challenge is Russian behavior," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels.

The NATO chief said the U.S. fully respected the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty as opposed to Russia.

NATO and the U.S. believe that Russia has been violating the treaty since 2013, when it has tested a ground-launched cruise missile.

Stoltenberg said that they don't want a new cold war and an armament race.

On Saturday, the U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to pull the country from the landmark treaty with Russia, citing the latter’s noncompliant behaviors.

"We’re the ones that have stayed in the agreement and we’ve honored the agreement but Russia has not unfortunately honored the agreement so we’re going to terminate [it]," Trump said.

Inked in 1987 in Washington, the INF treaty aimed to protect the allies of the U.S. and Russia in Europe and the Far East.

The treaty forbids Russia and the U.S. to have, produce or test ground-launched medium-range missiles with a range of between 300-3,400 miles.