US charges of alleged non-compliance by Russia with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) are intangible and far from the truth, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated at a special briefing.
The US is ‘throwing in’ misleading information concerning the country’s dialogue with Russia on the INF Treaty in order to justify withdrawing from the treaty, Ryabkov noted.
“After public statements by US President Donald Trump about Washington’s intention to unilaterally withdraw from the INF Treaty, the attention of politicians, diplomats, other relevant experts, and the international community is riveted on this story. There is a growing awareness in the world of the risks and threats that this ill-advised decision may entail not only for regional but also for global international security and stability in general,” Ryabkov said at the special briefing.
US Land Deployment of Mk 41 Missile Launching Systems ‘Flagrant’ Violation of INF
“Contrary to the agreement, the aforementioned launchers allow the combat use of the Tomahawk medium-range cruise missiles and other strike weapons from the ground. We consider this a direct and flagrant violation of the INF Treaty,” Ryabkov told reporters.
Russia’s response to the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty will be efficient and low-cost, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed.
“Regarding specific response measures, as has been repeatedly stated at our top level, the response will be effective. I would add ‘relatively low-cost’,” Ryabkov told reporters.
He said Russia would like to hope Washington will show the political will to continue talks with Moscow on strategic stability.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also commented on the matter on 24 November, saying that the planned withdrawal of the United States from the INF Treaty with Russia would be ‘a rather incautious step’.
The Russian position was announced after Trump made clear his country’s intention to withdraw from the INF Treaty over alleged violations of the agreement by Russia, while Moscow, has many times stressed that it is in strict compliance with the obligations outlined in the treaty.
The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 by then-leader of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and then US President Ronald Reagan who agreed to destroy all cruise or ground-launched ballistic missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometres (310 and 3,400 miles).