US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that Russia’s immediate return to the adherence with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty would be the best result in the current situation.
“Our best outcome would be that Russia returns to compliance immediately. And this is not like springing a trap on them,” Mattis said. “Again, for years now two administrations [and] various allies have talked to them about getting back to compliance. So this is not an unrealistic expectation.”
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States would suspend its adherence to the INF Treaty in 60 days unless Russia returned to full compliance with the agreement. Russia has repeatedly denied the allegations that it had breached the treaty.
The United States and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of violating the INF Treaty.