European Parliament Calls on EU to Invite Russia, US to Negotiate Mechanism Replacing INF

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The European Parliament has recommended the European External Action Service to call on Russia and the United States to resume their dialogue and look for a new mechanism to control the situation around the intermediate- and short-range missiles following the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

"With the collapse of the INF treaty last summer in mind, MEPs [members of European Parliament] recommend that EU representatives call on the US and Russia to resume dialogue and find a way to put in place a new legally binding instrument for short- and medium-range missiles. They should also stress that a clear commitment from Russia and the US to extend the new START Treaty [Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty] before it expires in February 2021 would contribute significantly to the NPT [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons] review conference", the European Parliament said in a press release on Wednesday.

The INF Treaty, signed in 1987 and banning any ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 310 to 3,417 miles, was terminated on 2 August as Washington formally suspended its obligations under the accord six months earlier.

Meanwhile, the fate of the New START Treaty, which is currently the last remaining arms control deal in force between the two nations, remains uncertain.

However, US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said in early February that the US and Russia would launch talks on nuclear arms control in the near future.