Jens Stoltenberg said Moscow’s construction and testing of SSC-8 cruise missiles, which the alliance says are banned under a Cold War-era accord, had reduced “the threshold for any use of nuclear weapons”. The Nato Secretary General said the “really serious” breach of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty required a “measured and responsible” response from the West. Russia revealed the 9M729 missiles late last year prompting fears they could be used to launch a nuclear attack against Europe or the United States at very short notice.
The weapons, referred to as SSC-8 by Nato, can be quickly moved and multiple rockets fired by a single mobile launcher, making them hard to detect and difficult to defend against.
Nato insists the weapons fall under those banned by the INF treaty because of their range, but Russia denies this.
Speaking to CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Stoltenberg warned the Kremlin’s actions made the use of nuclear weapons more likely.
He said: “Russia is in violation of that treaty, they have developed and deployed new missiles which are mobile, hard-to-detect, short warning time, and they are therefore reducing the threshold for any use of nuclear weapons.
“So we call on Russia to come back in to verifiable, transparent compliance with that treaty, because this is really important for all of us.”
Quizzed on how Nato planned to respond if Russia continued to develop and test banned weapons, he said: “We have asked our military authorities, our military commanders, to look in to the consequences, we will go through many different options, but I will not speculate now, because this is really serious, and we do have to do this in a measured and responsible way.”
The INF, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987, prohibits certain types of land-based missile with ranges of between 300 miles and 3,400 miles.
Washington says Russia is in breach of the treaty with the SSC-8 but Moscow claims it has a maximum range of 298 miles.
In a bid to convince the West of the weapon’s capabilities, Russian this week released the specifications of the missile and invited foreign officials and journalists to see it on display at Patriot Park, a military theme park on the outskirts of Moscow.
The US has previously refused to view the missile and its launcher on the grounds that such an exercise would not allow experts to verify the range of the weapon.
Washington has threatened to would suspend its obligations under the INF treaty by February 2 unless Moscow complies with the terms.
In December, Russia warned it would retaliate if the US pulled out of the accord.
Vladimir Putin insisted the US has offered “no proof” of violations and said Congress had already earmarked money for its development of similar weapons.
He said: “We are against the destruction of the treaty.
“But if it happens, we will react accordingly.”