MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The US pullout from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty will affect international security and unleash an arms race, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin said on Friday.
"We are keeping a close eye on the situation in the wake of the US intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. This intention, if it is carried through, will produce a negative effect on international security and strategic stability and, of course, will unleash an arms race," Fomin said at a meeting with military attaches, summing up the results of the ministry’s international activity over the year.
Russia strictly complies with the requirements of the INF Treaty and the US accusations are completely unfounded and no facts confirming the US allegations have been provided, the deputy defense minister said.
"At the same time, the US is violating the INF Treaty, continuing to use target missiles simulating shorter-and intermediate-range ballistic missiles to test anti-ballistic missile defense systems," the general stressed.
"The MK-41 launchers installed at missile shield facilities in Europe have been developed for the launch of Tomahawk cruise missiles that have a range capability of 2,400 km. Moreover, these launchers are known to be dual-purpose systems and can be used both for launching interceptors and surface-to-surface attack missiles," Fomin noted.
Such actions are banned under the INF Treaty, the Russian deputy defense minister said.
"Actually, the US intention to quit the treaty is an attempt to justify and legalize its violations. They already do not consider themselves bound by these commitments. Actually for these purposes, the US withdrew from the ABM Treaty in the early 2000s. At the same time, unfounded accusations against the Russian Federation are used as the motive," the Russian general said.
"On our part, we are ready to continue the dialogue with the United States on keeping the INF Treaty in force," he added.
INF Treaty issue
The INF Treaty was signed in Washington on December 8, 1987, and took effect on June 1, 1988. The INF Treaty eliminated operational and non-operational medium range (1,000-5,500 kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers) ground-launched missiles. By June 1991, the Soviet Union had eliminated 1,846 missiles, while the United States rolled back its arsenal to 846. That said, inspections ended in May 2001.
Back in July 2014, Washington accused Moscow for the first time of violating the INF Treaty. Since then, the US has repeated this claim more than once.
Russia strongly dismissed the accusations and struck back at the US with counterclaims, saying the United States has been blatantly violating the treaty by deploying at its bases in Europe multi-purpose Mk-41 vertical launching systems, which can also be used to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles. Besides, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Col. Gen. Fomin said in mid-August that Washington had made a decision earlier this year to finance a project to build mobile launching systems for land-based cruise missiles with the range of 500-5,500 km, which also fall under the treaty’s limits.
On December 4, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said after the meeting of NATO defense ministers that his country would stop honoring its commitments under the treaty, if Russia fails to return to compliance with that accord within 60 days. Russian President Vladimir Putin replied on December 5 that Washington has failed to present any evidence of Russia’s non-compliance. He added that although Moscow would like to have the treaty preserved, it would adequately respond if the US chooses to terminate it unilaterally.