Belgium ? Talks between NATO’s top generals and their Russian counterpart failed Thursday to narrow the gap between Moscow and the West over missile defense and arms control in Europe.

The Russian military’s chief of general staff warned that the treaty regulating conventional arms in Europe was “on the verge of collapse” following President Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a moratorium on Russia’s participation last month.

After talks at NATO headquarters, Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky repeated Russia’s opposition to American plans to install anti-missile defenses in Europe and dismissed U.S. assertions that the interceptors were needed to defend against potential threats from Iran.