BRUSSELS, February 5. /TASS/. The growing risk of an accidental nuclear war is the main threat stemming from the looming demise of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), a diplomat from one of the European countries’ missions to NATO told TASS on Tuesday.
"A new arms race is not the main consequence of the INF Treaty’s demise. The growing risk of an accidental nuclear war is the real threat," he said.
According to him, low-flying maneuverable cruise missiles have a very short arrival time. Such missiles are installed on small mobile launchers, the diplomat said, adding that "they may be launched from almost any location on enemy territory and it is not easy to detect them in time."
"Since a nuclear missile’s arrival time is only a few minutes, Russia and the US will inevitably have to automate decision-making algorithms concerning a retaliatory nuclear strike to the highest degree possible. You can’t rely on humans as there will not be enough time for the decision-making chain to work after enemy cruise missiles are detected for command posts will be destroyed before a decision on a retaliatory strike is made. This is why the functions of computer systems will inevitably be expanded as far as commands to launch missiles go, up to the large-scale use of automatic strike systems in case connection with command posts is lost. However, any machine can break down, while a decision-making failure may lead to a nuclear war in the future," he noted.
The diplomat pointed out that it was the US that would largely benefit from its withdrawal from the INF Treaty, as it would get a chance to deploy such missiles to new NATO members close to the Russian borders. At the same time, Russia does not have a similar staging area for the deployment of intermediate-range missiles because Russia is only capable of targeting the European countries where US missiles will be deployed, thus complicating relations with those countries and prompting them to seek US protection.
A NATO official told TASS earlier that defense ministers from NATO member states will start their upcoming meeting in Brussels by discussing the consequences of the US move to suspend its obligations under the Treaty.
INF Treaty issue
The INF Treaty, signed by the Soviet Union and the United States on December 8, 1987, took effect on June 1, 1988. It applies to deployed and non-deployed ground-based missiles of intermediate range (1,000-5,000 kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers). Washington on many occasions accused Russia of violating the Treaty but Moscow strongly dismissed all accusations and expressed grievances concerning Washington’s non-compliance.
On February 1, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced the suspension of Washington’s obligations under the INF Treaty starting February 2. Washington is determined to withdraw from the Treaty in six months unless Russia returns to "real and verifiable" compliance.
On February 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was also suspending the Treaty. He handed down instructions to refrain from initiating talks with Washington on the issue and stressed that the US needed to show readiness for an equal and substantive dialogue.