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Diplomat: Russia stands for keeping INF Treaty, if US fully complies with it

Russia Materials 26 November 2018 13:52 (UTC +04:00)
Moscow stands for keeping the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, if Washington strictly complies with it, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Monday
Diplomat: Russia stands for keeping INF Treaty, if US fully complies with it

Moscow stands for keeping the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, if Washington strictly complies with it, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Monday, TASS reports.

"We stand for preserving the INF Treaty, if the US side strictly complies with it. In this context, we are ready to confirm again with all the responsibility that we reject any speculations to the effect that we allegedly violated this treaty," the Russian high-ranking diplomat said at a special news briefing devoted to the INF Treaty.

"Both the US unfounded accusations against us and the categorical manner of voicing them are absolutely unacceptable," Ryabkov said.

US President Donald Trump said on October 20 that his country would quit the INF Treaty because Russia was allegedly in breach of that agreement. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov described this as a dangerous move. Washington was also criticized in Berlin and Beijing. In the meantime, London came out in support of the United States and NATO placed the responsibility for Trump’s decision on Russia, because in its opinion Moscow had apparently violated the treaty.

The INF Treaty was signed on December 8, 1987 and took effect on June 1, 1988. It outlawed deployed and non-deployed intermediate range (1,000-5,000 kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers) ground-based missiles.

In recent years, Washington has repeatedly alleged Russia was in breach of the agreement. Moscow emphatically dismissed the charges and countered them with its own claims over the United States’ non-compliance.

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