MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. Russia will take the necessary response measures to provide balance in the sphere of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in an interview with the International Affairs released on Saturday.
Russia does not plan to deploy missiles in the European part of the country as long as there are no US missiles in Europe, he said.
"We will take all the necessary response and tit-for-tat measures in order to ensure balance in the sphere of the INF Treaty. Still, we do not plan to deploy missiles, in particular in the European part of the country, until the corresponding American means appear in Europe," Grushko said in the interview.
"If the interests of providing security prevail and the Europeans do not wish to turn the continent into a lodgement for deploying American forces and the complete military-political and geopolitical submission to the US, they should oppose these plans [on the deployment of American missiles in Europe,] if there appear any," the diplomat stressed.
On February 1, US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced the suspension of Washington’s obligations under the INF starting February 2. Washington is determined to withdraw from the treaty in six months unless Russia returns to "real and verifiable" compliance. The US insists that Moscow should, first and foremost, eliminate its 9M729 ground-based cruise missile.
On February 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was also suspending the agreement. Putin signed a decree suspending Moscow’s compliance with the Treaty on March 4.