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On February 2nd, President Trump announced the unilateral suspension of the US from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. After several months of verbal escalation, the United States rejected the Russian offer to inspect a suspected missile (Novator 9M729) and declared that it would announce its decision on February 2nd.
Russia accused the United States of violating the Treaty by deploying a component of a missile defence system — the Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) — that is capable of launching offensive missiles.
By suspending its compliance with the Treaty, the United States will then be able to deploy prohibited missiles in Europe. In reaction of the unlawful behaviour of the US, Russia withdrew from the treaty as a reaction to the US actions. These attacks against this significant nuclear arms treaty are almost inevitably setting off a new arms race. Meanwhile, the US is renewing the nuclear weapons based in five European countries.
The INF treaty led to the elimination and renunciation of deployments of all US and Russian nuclear and conventional ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,000 km. Signed in 1987, after millions of people had fought to stop the nuclear arms race, it has dramatically reduced the danger of Europe becoming the primary theatre for a nuclear war and thus marked the end of the Cold War.
IPB calls for a massive and united mobilization of all the forces opposed to this project of mass destruction to work together, nationally and internationally, to avert a new nuclear arms race.
We urgently appeal for negotiations to preserve and reinforce the INF Treaty and associate all other nuclear-armed states. In addition, NATO governments are called upon to take a clear stance of against the usage of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces and support bilateral and international negotiations. The global population depends on a new coalition of sensibility and reasonability.
IPB calls on all countries to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted by the UN in 2017, which offers a solid international framework for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
With peaceful wishes,
Reiner Braun & Lisa Clark
Co-Presidents of IPB
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