Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

Romania's Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu on Thursday said the ballistic missile shield at Deveselu is a strictly defensive military structure, explaining that his remarks come in relation to the Russian Defence Ministry having asked the US to destroy the Mk-41 launching system in the composition of the Deveselu shield, on the grounds that it would violate the Intermediate-Range Nucle

Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting with foreign and defence ministers on Feb. 2 that Russia has suspended the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty following a similar decision by the United States, the Kremlin said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday evening in Bucharest that it is important that the European Union's defense efforts do not compete with those of the North Atlantic Alliance but are complementary.

The US has rejected Moscow's offer to inspect a new Russian missile suspected of violating a key cold-war era nuclear-weapons treaty, and warned that it would suspend observance of the agreement on 2 February, giving six-month notice of a complete withdrawal, reported the Guardian.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this late on Thursday.

Peskov was asked to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement about the possibility of a nuclear war following the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, TASS reported.

The EU foreign and security policy chief remarked this upon her arrival to the NATO foreign minister's meeting on Wednesday, when journalists asked "should European citizens feel concerned after this stern warning that (US State Secretary) Mike Pompeo launched to Russia?"

The Chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, said this on Wednesday, Sputnik is reporting.

If the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is canceled, then Russian responsive measures will target the countries that accommodate US intermediate-range and short-range missiles, the Russian army chief said.

Russia's defense ministry said on March 28  it regarded U.S. naval patrols in the Black Sea as a potential threat to its safety because it was unclear what kind of missiles the ships were carrying, the RIA news agency reported.

Russia on June 11 warned the United States of consequences if it moves to deploy land-based missiles in Europe in contravention of a key Cold-War era arms control treaty.

The United States has found that Russia violated a 1987 arms control treaty by testing a ground-launched cruise missile, a senior US official said late Monday, calling the matter "very serious."