Russian President Vladimir Putin watches a military exercise at a training ground on Sept. 18, 2017 at Luzhsky range near Saint Petersburg, Russia.

NATO said Russia must destroy its short-range nuclear-ready cruise missile system, or the alliance will be forced to respond.

The U.S. has previously said it will quit a decades-old missile treaty with Russia if the latter fails to destroy the missile, labeled the SSC-8 by NATO.

The 1987 INF Treaty between the U.S. and Russia sought to eliminate nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their launchers, with short ranges (310–620 miles) and intermediate ranges (620–3,420 miles).

NATO has said the SSC-8 violates those terms and that Russia has been deploying the system at locations which could threaten countries across Europe.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia had just five weeks to scrap the system and save the treaty.

"We call on Russia to take the responsible path. Unfortunately, we have seen no indication that Russia intends to do so," he said.