The White House believes that now is "not the time" to deploy medium- and shorter-range missiles (INF) manufactured by Russia in Europe. This opinion was voiced by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday, December 14.
Thus, she answered the question of how the United States regards Russia's statements about the possibility of the appearance of Russian INF in Europe.
"NATO is a defensive alliance, nothing has changed in this, despite the rhetoric of Russian or other world leaders. We talked about the importance of de-escalation and diplomacy. Now is not the time for steps in the opposite direction," she said at a regular briefing for journalists, a recording of which is available on the White House Twitter page.
On December 14, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that it makes no sense to agree to Russia's proposal to impose a moratorium on the deployment of weapons in Europe, since it does not inspire confidence.
On December 13, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned that if the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance do not respond to Moscow's demand for security guarantees, this will lead to a new round of confrontation. We are talking about Russia's concerns about the deployment in Europe of weapons prohibited by the Treaty on Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF). The ministry said that the lack of progress in solving this problem by diplomatic means will lead to the fact that Russia's response will be military-technical.
On December 10, it became known that the Kremlin plans to convey to the leadership of the United States and NATO its conceptual vision of the issue of security in Europe, the authorities are preparing an appropriate document. On December 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that after being accepted into NATO, weapons threatening Russia could be deployed in Ukraine. The Head of State also expressed hope that "all concerns about NATO expansion" will be heard.
