Representatives of Germany, Greece and Sweden will take part in a briefing by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the fate of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) and the situation with the 9M729 missile slated for Friday, the countries' diplomatic missions in Moscow told Sputnik on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2019) Representatives of Germany, Greece and Sweden will take part in a briefing by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the fate of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) and the situation with the 9M729 missile slated for Friday, the countries' diplomatic missions in Moscow told Sputnik on Wednesday.On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Russia was planning to hold on Friday a closed briefing at the Foreign Ministry for its allies, partners and ambassadors of European countries on the future of the INF Treaty and the situation around the 9M729 missile.
Greece will be represented at the briefing by Ambassador Andreas Fryganas. The embassies of Germany and Sweden confirmed their participation in the briefing, but did not specify who exactly would represent the countries.
The Australian diplomatic mission did not rule out that they could also participate in the briefing.
On Tuesday, Russian-US consultations on the INF Treaty were held in Geneva. The Russian delegation was headed by Ryabkov. After the meeting, he said that the US delegation had arrived with a ready result. The diplomat also noted that Moscow had offered Washington a new meeting on the issue, but the US side had not expressed readiness to participate in it.
Moscow and Washington have repeatedly blamed each other for violating the 1987 pact, which banned ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 311 and 3,417 miles.
US President Donald Trump said in October he wanted to pull the country from the deal but was persuaded by European allies in December to give Russia a 60-day grace period until mid-February to comply.
Russia has rejected US claims. It has complained about US weapons in Europe that can fire cruise missiles at ranges that are in breach of the INF. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the United States of refusing to address mutual concerns together. He also said that US accusations of violation of the INF Treaty by Moscow are unsubstantiated, since the 9M729 missile was tested at the range permitted by the agreement.
