On Thursday 8 November, several senior officials in the US administration said the announcement of US President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia would not weaken European security.
Europeans are concerned about the end of this treaty, which is described as crucial for the security of Europe (see EUROPE 12122).
"We fully support arms control, but must advance US and allies' security", one of the officials told a group of journalists in Brussels. The US accuses Russia of not having respected the INF Treaty for years and of not being in conformity with it, despite the US attempts at negotiation.
It is clear that it is not tenable for Russia to violate the treaty and for the US to be limited in responding to this, one of his colleagues added. Another official said that if the agreement was important for European security, in the current circumstances it was hurting transatlantic security.
But this does not mean that Europe will host new US nuclear weapons. "There is no plan for the deployment of anything new in Europe. There is no plan for more US nuclear weapons in Europe", one of the officials stated.
According to these officials, it is not Washington that is withdrawing from the treaty first. "We are not the ones who unilaterally withdraw and we have not done so yet. It’s Russia with activities that violate. Russia has unilaterally withdrawn and acted as if it was non-existent", one of the officials justified.
Although Trump announced, on 20 October, the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty, this withdrawal "will happen at the time and in the manner we choose", one of the officials said. Consultations are currently taking place with US allies on how to put an end to this treaty. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)