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US accuses Russia of violating missile treaty, turns blind eye on own violations

LITOVKIN Viktor 
In the past Washington repeatedly expressed its concerns regarding Moscow’s alleged failure to implement INF provisions

MOSCOW, July 29. /ITAR-TASS/. A high-ranking official in the US administration accused Russia on Monday of violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

“The 2014 Compliance Report of the treaty includes a determination that the Russian Federation is in violation of its INF Treaty obligations not to possess, produce, or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,417 miles), or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles,” a senior official from the US Department of State said.

"This is a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now," he added.

In the past Washington repeatedly expressed its concerns regarding Moscow’s alleged failure to implement INF provisions. Such concern was most recently voiced to journalists in May by US Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller. At that time she said the matter concerned Russia’s development of a ground-launched cruise missile.

However, Gottemoeller did not specify back then which type of the missile she exactly meant. Nevertheless, according to diplomatic and military sources, the missile in question could have been a sea-launched cruise missile, which Russia is currently developing and which is not a subject to INF provisions. The missile was test launched from the ground to trial its test and technical characteristics and as a result provoked discontent in Washington.

But at the same time, according to Russian experts, the United States had repeatedly violated and continues violating INF provisions.

Gen. Maj. Midykhat Vildanov, a professor with the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, said Americans were regularly violating provisions of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by test launching Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) missiles, designed to intercept ballistic missiles in the mid-course of their flying trajectory. Interceptor missiles of this class are deployed in Alaska and at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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