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US withdrawing from INF Treaty to pursue unipolar world — diplomatic source

"Russia has repeatedly exposed the US course on undermining the INF Treaty," a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said
Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Fadeichev/TASS
Russian Foreign Ministry
© Sergey Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, October 21. /TASS/. The main reasoning behind the US decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is Washington's dream about a unipolar world, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Sunday.

"Russia has repeatedly exposed the US course on undermining the INF Treaty. Washington wanted to make this step for many years, intentionally and gradually eroding the contractual base," the source said. "At the same time, this decision is in line with US course on withdrawing from international legal agreements that impose equal obligations on all partners and make the concept of their 'exceptionalism' vulnerable," the source added.

"The main motive is the dream about a unipolar world. Will it come true? No," the source concluded.

On Saturday US President Donald Trump said that Washington will withdraw from the INF Treaty because Russia is violating the terms of the agreement. At the same time, he did not rule out signing a new agreement on intermediate-range nuclear forces with Moscow and Beijing if Russia and China provide guarantees of halting the production of such weapons.

The US has first accused Russia of violating the conditions of the INF Treaty in July 2014. Russia refuted all such allegations and put forward their concerns about US compliance with the Treaty.

The INF Treaty was signed between USSR and US on December 8, 1987 in Washington, DC.