Russia Promises ‘Countervailing Military Measures’ in Response to NATO Ultimatum

June 26, 2019 (EIRNS)—In response to the June 25 demand by NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg that Russia destroy its 9M729 cruise missiles (NATO designation SSC-8) within five weeks for allegedly violating the INF Treaty or NATO will take countermeasures, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov angrily told reporters in Moscow, this morning, that Moscow will be forced to take “countervailing military measures” should NATO make good on its threats.

“Attempts to portray what is happening as a military and political response to Russia’s actions reek of a propaganda campaign with a large element of deliberate misinformation being fed to global public opinion,” Ryabkov said today, reported TASS. “When these threats begin to materialize into real action, we will have to take countervailing military measures.”

Over the past years, the Alliance’s member-states have adopted an ideology of a dual-track approach to their relations with Russia: to contain it along with holding dialogue on the issues which NATO seeks to discuss. Russia will pursue a similar line, Ryabkov stressed. “We will contain NATO’s aggressive plans, measure them and adopt a very selective approach to dialogue with the Alliance, which the member-states of this organization are promoting.”