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Russia arms test shakes Polish administration

PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp 31.07.2014 09:38
Poland’s Foreign Ministry has issued a statement which urges Russia to ‘explain itself’ following the US State Department’s recent findings that Moscow broke a nuclear arms treaty dating from 1987.

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A cyclist rides close to a destroyed building after fighting between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian forces in Kramatorsk town, near Slaviansk, Ukraine, 30 July 2014. Photo: PAP/EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY

The findings come as an annual report released this week by the US State Department on arms control shows that Russia broke the INF treaty on the disarmament of medium-range nuclear weapons.

“Poland notes with concern the findings of [the] report,” the Polish Foreign Ministry announced through its website.

“We expect the Russian Federation to use the opportunity afforded to it, among others, by the consultation mechanism with the United States, and provide comprehensive explanations about reservations concerning the appropriate implementation of the INF Treaty, and to return to the observance of the Treaty, thereby fulfilling its international obligations,” the Polish Foreign Ministry announcement continues.

The 1987 INF Treaty was signed between US President Ronald Reagan and leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. The document puts a stop to the manufacture, testing and possession of ballistic missiles with a range between 500 to 5,500 kilometres.

“The INF Treaty [has] made a significant contribution to enhancing security in Europe. Its undermining would represent a serious challenge to Europe’s security,” the statement reads.

The statement also affirms NATO’s importance with regards the current geopolitical situation in the region, and that “Poland will hold consultations with its NATO allies on the information about Russia’s non-compliance with the INF Treaty with a view to fully clarifying the issue.”

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that the US President Barack Obama’s administration has called the breach “a very serious concern”.

Obama has written a letter of US determination to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the matter. White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest told journalists on Tuesday that this is “a serious concern that we have raised with the Russians on a number of occasions through our standard diplomatic channels.”

“We’re going to continue to work with Russia – we’ve offered to engage in a high-level dialogue with them so that they can resolve our concerns of this matter,” Earnest said.

According to the New York Times, the US administration is of the belief that Russia began conducting flight tests of a new ground-launched cruise missile as early as 2008.

However, American intelligence had to gather more information and it was not until the end of 2011 that officials said that it had clear concerns over compliance with the INF Treaty.

The US State Department report was to be published earlier this year, although it has been mooted that Washington decided to publish the report now due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, the US joined the EU in slapping further sanctions on Moscow over its alleged role in aiding pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. (jb)

Source: IAR/PAP/AP/New York Times/msz.gov.pl/whitehouse.gov

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