KUBINKA /Moscow Region/, January 23. /TASS/. Moscow will continue to regard the terms of the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty mandatory for both signatories - Russia and the United States - after February 2, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told a joint news briefing by the Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry devoted to the cruise missile 9M729.
"Within the framework of the political gambling initiated by the United States, plans were announced to suspend compliance with the liabilities under the INF Treaty starting from February 2, if Russia failed to eliminate its alleged violation. We believe that by virtue of the absence of any INF violations on our part, Washington’s argument in favor of suspending the operation of the Treaty is groundless and the decision is null and void from the legal standpoint," Ryabkov said. "In practice, this means that for the period of its so-called suspension, the treaty will stay in effect and remain mandatory for both parties," he added.
In addition, the senior Russian diplomat pointed to the true reason for the US decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty. "A thing to note is that US administration officials’ statements about plans to suspend the INF Treaty, as well as US President Donald Trump’s earlier statement on the matter, did clarify the actual reason behind the move. Washington seeks to gain a free hand to choose the means of countering the countries that have ground-based missiles of intermediate and shorter range and considered by the United States as its geopolitical rivals and opponents," Ryabkov said.
On January 15, Russia and the US held inter-agency consultations on the INF Treaty in Geneva. Ryabkov said following the meeting that the US had not even tried to bring the positions of the parties closer, making it clear that it was determined to implement its plans to destroy the Treaty.
The US State Department's Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson, who led the US delegation, in turn, once again accused Russia of non-compliance with the document and said that Washington would start the process of pulling out of the INF Treaty on February 2, unless Moscow dismantled its 9M729 missile, which, according to Washington, violates the Treaty.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a test launch of the missile took place at the Kapustin Yar range during the Zapad-2017 (or West-2017) military exercise on September 18, 2017. The missile covered its maximum range of less than 480 kilometers.
INF Treaty situation
The INF Treaty, signed by the Soviet Union and the United States on December 8, 1987, took effect on June 1, 1988. It applies to deployed and non-deployed ground-based missiles of intermediate range (1,000-5,000 kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers). In the recent years, Washington has been repeatedly accusing Russia of violating the treaty. Moscow strongly dismissed the accusations and voiced its own claims concerning Washington’s non-compliance.
On October 20, 2018, US President Donald Trump said that Washington would pull out of the INF Treaty because Russia had allegedly violated it. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said it was a dangerous move. Berlin and Beijing criticized Washington, while London voiced its support for the US, and NATO laid the blame for Trump’s decision on Russia.
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said on December 4, 2018, that Washington would suspend its obligations under the Treaty unless Moscow returned to "full and verifiable" compliance within 60 days. On December 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that Washington had not provided evidence proving Moscow’s violations of the document. He also said that Russia called for maintaining the Treaty but if the United States pulled out of it, Moscow would have to give an appropriate response.
