MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. Russia will not let anybody to pressure it or force it to take certain steps in the situation that has emerged around the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with TASS.
"Pressure and force is not the language we would allow anyone to use talking to us," he noted. According to Ryabkov, Russia hopes that "common sense and concern for the security of the European continent and global security will outweigh other concerns related to relying on force and pressure in all areas."
The diplomat emphasized that Moscow is not going to blindly trust NATO when the alliance says that it won’t deploy nuclear missiles in Europe. "For now NATO is assuring us that the they do not plans to possibly deploy such nuclear equipment. However, such promises should not be taken at face value," he said.
At the same time, he noted that the alliance "has broken their previous promises on numerous occasions, changed its plans and intentions." "Therefore, there are no grounds to believe these statements in the new and changed situation," he added.
"Nevertheless, we are hoping that common sense and concern about the security of the European continent and the global security will outweigh other ideas of exercising force and applying pressure on all fronts. Pressure and force are not the conduct we will tolerate fro anybody," the senior diplomat underlined.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance was ready for a "world without the INF Treaty", which loses its force on August 2. He again affirmed that the alliance is not intending to deploy new nuclear ground missiles in Europe but failed to mention whether NATO is planning to expand its nuclear containment arsenal by beefing up its off-shore and airborne nuclear strike capabilities near the Russian borders.