German Foreign Minister Says To Discuss INF With US Secretary Of State On January 23

German Foreign Minister Says to Discuss INF With US Secretary of State on January 23

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 23, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christoph Burger said on Monday

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st January, 2019) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will discuss the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 23, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christoph Burger said on Monday.

"I can tell you that Foreign Minister Maas will start his visit to the United States on Wednesday, he will visit Washington and New York ... On January 23, Foreign Minister Maas will conduct political negotiations in Washington, among other matters, with Secretary of State Pompeo. They will talk about the INF Treaty, as well as other international topics, for example, the situation in Syria," Burger said.

According to Burger, Maas will attend several meetings at the United Nations, including a UN Security Council session, on January 24 where Germany wants to show its determination to actively participate in resolving international issues. This will be Maas' first visit to the United Nations since Germany became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council at the beginning of January.

"[During the visit,] the two key themes of Germany's membership in the Security Council will be discussed, it is a complex of climate and security topics, second of all, it is the Women, Peace and Security Agenda," Burger said.

During his visit to Moscow on January 18, Maas said that Germany was very much interested in preserving the INF Treaty. He urged for a new treaty to be created that would exceed the framework of current one and regulate new technologies by establishing control over the weapons and creating a new institutional architecture that would not only include the United States, Russia, and China.

The historic nuclear treaty, which was signed by the Soviet Union and the United States in 1987 and envisaged the destruction of all cruise or ground-launched ballistic missiles with ranges between 310 and 3,400 miles, faced uncertainty last October when US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would pull out of the agreement because of Russia's alleged violations.

In particular, the United States has repeatedly voiced concern over Russia's 9M729 missile, which, according to Washington, violates the provisions of the nuclear treaty. Moscow has refuted US accusations as unsubstantiated, insisting that the missile was tested at the range permitted by the agreement.

Russia, in turn, has complained that launchers on US defense systems in Europe are capable of firing cruise missiles at ranges that are banned by the agreement.