MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. The United States is waging a large-scale propaganda campaign against Russia, seeking to shift the responsibility for its plans to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday.

"While undermining the INF Treaty, the US is waging a large-scale propaganda campaign, seeking to make the world believe that its withdrawal is caused by Russia’s violations of the document," she said. "Such an approach is totally inappropriate, and attempts to shift the responsibility to Russia are absolutely unacceptable," Zakharova added.

The Russian diplomat pointed out that the US had not bothered to clearly justify its claims. "These claims remain groundless and are openly provocative," she noted. "We would like to state once again that our country has been strictly abiding by the treaty, while Washington seeks to cover up its own violations by putting forward groundless accusations against us," Zakharova pointed out.

According to her, the situation surrounding the INF Treaty concerns not only Moscow and Washington but other members of the international community as well. "We call on all who realize their responsibility for the future of global stability and security, to send a clear signal to Washington that its plans are dangerous," Zakharova stressed.

INF Treaty situation

On October 20, US President Donald Trump said that Washington would pull out of the INF Treaty because Russia had allegedly violated it.

The INF Treaty was concluded on December 8, 1987, and took effect on June 1, 1988. It applies to deployed and non-deployed ground-based missiles of intermediate range (1,000-5,000 kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers). In the recent years, Washington has been repeatedly accusing Russia of violating the treaty. Moscow strongly dismissed the accusations and voiced its own claims concerning Washington’s non-compliance.

At the same time, Trump does not rule out that a new treaty may be signed with Russia and China, provided they give assurances they will stop developing these kinds of weapons.