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NATO denies Russia request to bar missiles in Europe

By Nicholas Sakelaris
NATO declined the request for a moratorium on U.S. missiles being deployed in Europe. File Photo by John Kowalski/U.S. Navy/UPI
NATO declined the request for a moratorium on U.S. missiles being deployed in Europe. File Photo by John Kowalski/U.S. Navy/UPI

Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has rejected a request from Russian President Vladimir Putin to prohibit missile deployments in Europe, now that Moscow and the United States have left a 1988 nuclear treaty.

Because both nations left the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty this year, they are free to develop and deploy nuclear and conventional ballistic and cruise missiles. Putin asked NATO for a moratorium to keep the United States or Western European nations from deploying previously banned missiles so close to Russian soil.

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NATO declined the proposal Thursday, because it says Russia still possesses missiles -- for the SSC-8 system -- that were banned under the INF pact.

"Unless and until Russia verifiably destroys the SSC-8 system, this moratorium on deployments is not a real offer," NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungesu told the Financial Times.

Lungesu added that NATO has heard Russia's proposal before, and said it's "not a credible offer."

In June, NATO gave Moscow five weeks to destroy any remaining ground-launched missiles that violate the INF treaty, including the SSC-8s. Last month, Putin ordered his military to respond to a U.S. missile test.

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