Mattis warns Russia that its missile treaty violation is 'untenable'

Source: The Hill | October 4, 2018 | Jamie McIntyre

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned Russia Thursday that Washington will not accept Moscow’s continued violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with its covert development of land-based cruise missiles that could threaten Europe.

“Make no mistake: The current situation with Russia in blatant violation of this treaty is untenable,” Mattis said at the conclusion of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.

“We discussed this situation at length during this ministerial meeting among trusted allies,” Mattis said. “The United States is upholding its arms control obligations. Russia is not, and it is time now for Russia to return to compliance.”

Mattis is the second high-ranking U.S. official this week to signal that Washington is losing patience with Moscow over its alleged violation of the Cold War era treaty signed by former President Ronald Reagan and Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, which bans ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

“We have been trying to send a message to Russia for several years that we know they are violating the treaty. We have shown Russia the evidence that we have, that they are violating the treaty,” U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said on Tuesday.

“They are building a medium-range ballistic missile in violation of the INF. That is a fact which we have proven,” she told reporters in Brussels.

Hutchison briefly caused a stir when she seemed to threaten military action to take out the weapons once they are deployed, but then walked back her comments in a tweet, insisting she was not talking about a pre-emptive strike.

Mattis was more measured, but also indicated the U.S. would not let the deployment go unanswered.

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