The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and Member States' Foreign Ministers expressed concern on Friday, February 1, about the announcement by the United States of the suspension of its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
After a final meeting between Russians and Americans that failed to make any progress on Thursday, January 31, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on February 1 that Washington would suspend its treaty obligations as of February 2, and that its withdrawal would take effect in six months, on August 2, if Russia does not comply with its obligations.
While she had already repeatedly called on the parties to remain in the agreement and fully respect it, Ms. Mogherini stressed that Europeans did not want their continent to “become a battlefield or a place where other major powers clash”.
Although the subject was not officially discussed at the informal meeting in Bucharest, it was on everyone's lips. “I am not only concerned, I also regret that the INF is a thing of the past and not part of the present relations”, summarized Austrian Karin Kneissl.
“We are very worried.[...] we are in a spiral that is going in the wrong direction”, regretted the Luxembourg Minister, Jean Asselborn, at EUROPE and B2. According to him, neither the Russians nor the Americans have an interest in there being “a dynamic towards rearmament”. "We Europeans are the ones who are caught in the middle. A new debate on a rising spiral of armaments in Europe would be catastrophic”, he added. Mr. Asselborn hoped that the Russians and Americans would continue the discussions: "The period between February 2 and August 2 should be used to ensure that the dialogue between Russia and the United States is not at a stalemate”.
Belgian Didier Reynders also called for dialogue. “We really need to see how we can continue to work with Russia to avoid proliferation” and, for him, the EU could “try to play a role, perhaps, a little more prominent here in a discussion with Russia on non-proliferation”.
"Exit is not the right solution [...] we would rather be able to resume a real dialogue. I hope that our American colleagues, even outside the treaty, will continue to work on this dialogue with Russia. It is not by leaving the multilateral framework that we will succeed in having more pressure, more effectiveness in the fight against non-proliferation”, he warned.
According to Hungarian Minister Péter Szijjártó, "security in the Central-Eastern European region is a pragmatic cooperation between East and West [...] anything that undermines this pragmatic cooperation is of no use”.
Lithuanian ministers Linas Linkevičius and Latvian minister Edgars Rinkēvičs have blamed Russia. "Less stability and more uncertainty is bad. But what is the option? What is the recipe for ensuring that countries commit to the commitments they have made?” Linas Linkevičius asked himself. “I would blame one party, [to the treaty, but] not the United States. For years, they made demands, they insisted... nothing has changed”, he recalled. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)