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EU Urges US to Assess Impact of Pullout From INF Treaty on European Security

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The EU has urged Washington to assess the implications of a possible US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), a spokeswoman for the Austrian EU presidency said on Wednesday.
Sputnik

"The US and Russia need to remain engaged in a constructive dialogue to preserve the INF Treaty and ensure its full and verifiable implementation, which is crucial for European and global stability," she cited a statement on behalf of the EU presidency addressing lawmakers in the European Parliament.

"We asked the United States to consider the consequences of its possible withdrawal on its own and our collective security," the official stressed.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that both Russia and the European countries are alarmed by the unclear future of the Russian-US Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

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In October, US President Donald Trump said that Washington intended to leave the INF Treaty, accusing Russia of violating it numerous times, while Moscow rejected the accusations, adding that Russia would be forced to take measures to ensure its security if the treaty was terminated by the United States.

The INF Treaty is an agreement that the United States and the Soviet Union signed in December 1987. It prohibited either country from possessing, producing or flight-testing ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres (311 to 3,418 miles) and their launchers.

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