Europe does not fully realize all the negative consequences of the US withdrawal from the now defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, member of the Russian parliament's upper house Alexei Pushkov said on Tuesday
"Europe does not fully understand the consequences of the US withdrawal from the INF ... We are explained that this is linked to the US concern over China's actions [related to] boosting its nuclear armament," Pushkov said at a security conference in Minsk, adding that the United States may deploy weapons banned under the INF Treaty not only to Asia but also to Europe.
The lawmaker pointed out that Russia had frozen its participation in the INF Treaty in response to the US exiting the agreement.
"If the United States decides to return to the treaty, we will automatically return to the agreement," Pushkov said.
He added that NATO countries had not accepted Russia's initiative to place a moratorium on deploying weapons banned under the pact to Europe.
The INF Treaty, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987, was terminated on August 2 at the US initiative after the country formally suspended its INF obligations six months earlier. Both countries have repeatedly accused each other of violating the deal, which banned any ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,417 miles).
