US plans deploying missiles in Europe

Washington: The United States is considering a range of moves to counter Russia’s alleged violation of a nuclear arms treaty, including bolstering missile defenses or even deploying land-based missiles in Europe, officials said on Saturday. The options are expected to be discussed at a meeting of senior military officers and diplomats convened by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter during a visit on Friday to Stuttgart, Germany, Pentagon officials said.

The talks will focus on Moscow’s role in the Ukraine conflict as well as its suspected breach of the arms control agreement, with an array of potential counter measures to be laid out.  Installing land-missiles in Europe was a more aggressive step “at the far end of the spectrum,” the official said. Washington last year accused Russia of violating a Cold War era arms control accord, the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty, by testing a banned ground-launched cruise missile.

Carter told lawmakers earlier this year that the arms control agreement was a “two-way street,” and Washington might take its own steps if Russia did not back off.“The administration is considering an array of potential military responses to Russia's ongoing violation of the INF Treaty,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Joe Sowers said.

“All the options under consideration are designed to ensure that Russia gains no significant military advantage from their violation,” Sowers said. Some of the possible options are in accordance with the arms control treaty, but some are not, officials said.