The United States has not explained yet why it concluded that the ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile (Russian designation 9M729) violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Wednesday.
“For a long time, the United States refused to clearly indicate the specific type of missile in the Russian arsenal… citing some mysterious intelligence data. Only about a year ago, the United States reported that this was a 9M729 rocket”, he said.
Ryabkov further emphasised that the 9M729 missile could not be tested for range banned by the INF, because it was not developed for that purpose.
At the same time, he noted that Washington’s demand to eliminate all rockets of the type was totally “unacceptable” for Moscow.
Many of US claims on Russia’s alleged violations of the INF were falsified, and Moscow’s reasoning has been ignored, Ryabkov stresed.
The diplomat vehemently denied that Moscow had violated the terms of the INF treaty, and stated that Washington’s reasoning for the pullout was not “tenable”, therefore the accord remained effective so far.
“Recently, the American side took another destructive step, at the highest level, Washington announced its intention to withdraw from the treaty. Almost immediately, this intention was confirmed to us through bilateral channels, and a clear explanation was given that the announced step was not an invitation to dialogue, and the decision was made due to the combination of circumstances and is final”.
Ryabkov underscored that Moscow was ready to be utterly transparent on its compliance with the treaty, and suggested that the US should act accordingly.
The Deputy Foreign Minister elaborated that the 1987 Treaty should be preserved: since Russia is ready for a full-scale dialogue, it is up to the US to choose.
In early December, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that Washington would suspend its adherence to the accord within 60 days unless Russia returns to full compliance with the agreement.
His remark came two months after President Donald Trump announced the intention to abandon the 1987 treaty, having accused Russia of violating its terms. Moscow has vehementy denied the allegations, emphasising that Washington, in turn, was deploying launchers for Tomahawk cruise missiles in Eastern Europe, which is prohibited by the treaty.
The INF treaty was inked by the Soviet Union and the US in 1987, and provides for the destruction of all nuclear-armed ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,000 kilometres (about 300 to 3,400 miles).
UNI
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