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EU adopts 'wait and see' approach to situation over INF Treaty — source

US President Donald Trump publicly announced plans to pull out of the INF Treaty for the first time on October 20

BRUSSELS, December 7. /TASS/. The European Union has adopted a wait-and-see approach to the situation over the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), a European source told reporters in Brussels on Friday ahead a meeting of the EU Council at the level of foreign ministers, set to be held on December 10.

"We are aware of the statements (made by the United States), but we do not know whether they will take effect and when. That’s why we’ve adopted a wait-and-see approach," he added, answering a question whether EU 28 top diplomats will address the issue on Monday.

According to the diplomat, "there will be no surprises on December 10." "We do not expect a discussion on the issue," he stressed.

INF Treaty

US President Donald Trump publicly announced plans to pull out of the INF Treaty for the first time on October 20.

On December 4, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said after a meeting of top NATO diplomats in Brussels that Washington would suspend its obligations under the arms control deal unless Moscow returned to "full and verifiable" compliance within 60 days.

Also, top NATO diplomats urged Russia to urgently return to full and verifiable compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), pointing out that now the ball is in Moscow’s court to preserve the deal.

The first time that the US had accused Russia of violating the INF accord was back in July 2014. After that Washington has repeated its allegations several times, with which Moscow does not agree, striking back at Washington with counterclaims.

The INF accord was signed between the Soviet Union and the United States on December 8, 1987 in Washington, DC and took effect on June 1, 1988. The INF Treaty eliminated operational and non-operational medium-range (1,000-5,500 kilometers) and shorter-range (500-1,000 kilometers) ground-launched missiles.