Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday raised alarms over North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) weapons deployment, warning that Russia is ready to deploy its intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe in retaliation.
Ryabkov argued that the Western Alliance’s restoration of its nuclear-capable 56th Artillery Command last month provides an “indirect indication” that NATO is planning to re-deploy its intermediate-range missiles, thereby compromising Russia’s security.
In an interview with state-run news agency RIA Novosti, Ryabkov said “there will be confrontation,” warning that Moscow is ready to deploy weapons banned under the now-expired Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.
Ryabkov urged NATO and the United States to join a moratorium on INFs, complaining that “they just don’t respond to our proposals.”
In 1987, then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan agreed to ban INFs in Europe, marking a major peaceful turn in the Cold War. The current treaty between Russia and the West regarding INFs expired in 2019 after Washington withdrew after years of accusing Moscow of violating the treaty due to its development of the 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile.
NATO has emphasised that it will not host any new US missiles in Europe and that it will deter Russsia with “measured” responses limited to conventional weapons.
Furthermore, Ryabkov highlighted that Moscow has a “complete lack of trust” in NATO and the West following the recent deterioration in relations over the border crisis in Ukraine.
He also criticized NATO’s eastern expansion saying, “They believe they can act as they need, to their advantage, and we simply have to swallow all this and deal with it. This is not going to continue.”
“Our response will be military,” Ryabkov added referring to Moscow’s retaliation to NATO’s eastern expansion.
In a separate interview with the Izvestia news agency, Ryabkov expanded on the current state of US-Russia relations by saying that he “would not risk giving any optimistic forecasts.”
Ryabkov described the US’ involvement in Ukraine as a geopolitical power grab that jeopardises Russia’s security, reiterating Moscow’s position that legal guarantees against NATO expansion will ease tensions.
Earlier this month Russian President Vladimir Putin specifically demanded “reliable and long-term security guarantees” that limit NATO’s expansion towards Russian borders.
Last week, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted a two-hour videoconference discussing the tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border. Although the two leaders failed to resolve the Ukraine issue, channels for future communication were left open.
The US and its European allies have emphasised that they are ready to impose severe economic and other military actions against Russia if it invades Ukraine.