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US statements on range of new Russian cruise missile contrary to facts — diplomat

The Russian senior diplomat pointed out that US allegations lacked evidence

MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. A new Russian cruise missile, which allegedly violate the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), has in fact a much shorter range than the United States indicates, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday.

"Americans have been long complaining that we do not allegedly comply with the treaty which bans deployment on land of the cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers," Ryabkov said. "But what an interesting regularity: no concrete evidence is presented, just as with notorious allegations of ‘Russian interference in the US election’."

"The one thing they did tell us recently was the code of a Russian missile development which range is actually much shorter that the above mentioned one," he said.

The Russian senior diplomat pointed out that US allegations lacked evidence and "are backed neither by technical parameters of the missile launcher, which purportedly do not comply with the Treaty, nor data of flight telemetry."

"Nothing," he went on. "And we can see why. Because they merely do not exist."

At the same time, the United States announced their intentions to begin research of a new nuclear cruise missile with a banned range.

"Therefore, in the context of the INF Treaty the anti-Russia propagandistic campaign looks as if someone wishes to shift the blame on someone else," the diplomat concluded.