Moscow is disappointed with the results of the vote in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly on Russia’s draft resolution in support of the preservation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday.
“We are deeply disappointed with the results of voting in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly on the issue of a Russian draft resolution in support of the INF Treaty. It is puzzling that the work on the document, whose relevance is beyond doubt, was blocked under a far-fetched procedural pretext,” the ministry said in a commentary.
According to the ministry, a total of 55 countries opposed the very idea of considering the issue of maintaining the viability of the INF Treaty n the UNGA First Committee, “although it is clearly one of the key elements of the global nuclear arms control architecture.”
“At the same time, we are grateful to all those who demonstrated an independent position and responsible approach to strengthening arms control mechanisms, stability and security, showing readiness to work with the draft resolution proposed by Russia in order to preserve the INF Treaty. In view of our political and diplomatic efforts in support of the Treaty, we look forward to continuing constructive cooperation with these countries,” the ministry stressed.
The statement was made after on October 20 Trump announced the United States’s pull out of the INF, accusing Moscow of violating the terms of the nuclear arms agreement. The Kremlin has rejected the accusations, stressing that the scrapping of the INF treaty would force Russia to take measures to ensure its security.
In recent years, Moscow and Washington have regularly accused each other of violating the INF Treaty. Russia has repeatedly stated that it strictly complies with its obligations under the deal. Lavrov noted that Moscow has very serious questions for the United States about the implementation of the treaty by the Americans.
In particular, Moscow pointed out that the United States is stationing on land — at a military base in Romania, and also in Poland — installations capable of launching Tomahawk-type cruise missiles, which is prohibited by the agreement. Russia has also drawn attention to the fact that the US is developing attack drone vehicles, funding research on the creation of a ground-based cruise missile.