LISBON, November 24. /TASS/. Washington’s pullout from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty would be an ill-considered step and Russia is interested in keeping this document in force, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Portuguese counterpart Augusto Santos Silva on Saturday.
"We have stated on many occasions our position on US actions related to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and we believe that this would be quite an ill-considered step. The treaty had been recognized for many decades as a cornerstone of international, regional and global security and stability and the Russian Federation is interested in keeping this document in force," Russia’s top diplomat stressed.
"When we heard about the US intention to quit the treaty, when we got the confirmation from representatives of the US administration in Washington that the intention was actually final, we tried to convince the US side of the need not to slam the door and consider the issues that require additional discussions so that the treaty keeps its force," the Russian foreign minister said.
Russia’s top diplomat drew attention to the fact that while European countries had expressed their concern over the prospect of dismantling the treaty, none of them had come in support of a Russian draft resolution at the UN Security Council urging the treaty’s signatories to comply with their commitments and keep the document in force.
"Unfortunately, our partners fell short of their unity to speak at the UN in favor of keeping this most important document in force," Lavrov said.
US President Donald Trump said on October 20 that his country would quit the INF Treaty because Russia was allegedly in breach of that agreement. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov described this as a dangerous move. Washington was also criticized in Berlin and Beijing. In the meantime, London came out in support of the United States and NATO placed the responsibility for Trump’s decision on Russia, because in its opinion Moscow had apparently violated the treaty.
The INF Treaty was signed on December 8, 1987 and took effect on June 1, 1988. It outlawed deployed and non-deployed intermediate range (1,000-5,000 kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers) ground-based missiles.
In recent years, Washington has repeatedly alleged Russia was in breach of the agreement. Moscow emphatically dismissed the charges and countered them with its own claims over the United States’ non-compliance.