EU’s Mogherini urges Russia, US to save Cold War arms control treaty

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini has urged Russia and the US to save a Cold War arms control treaty after Washington issued a 60-day ultimatum to Moscow. The US said it would pull out of the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty unless Moscow withdraws “a new cruise missile system.” Mogherini pleaded on Wednesday for the treaty to be saved, warning that Europe did not want to become a battlefield for global powers once again, AFP reports. “The INF has guaranteed peace and security in European territory for 30 years now,” Mogherini said. NATO foreign ministers issued a statement putting the onus squarely on Russia to save the INF, saying the US had remained “in full compliance.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that the US should show satellite data to confirm its allegations that Moscow had violated the INF treaty.