MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. Should it push ahead with its decision to quit the Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty, the United States will most likely deploy its missiles near Russia’s borders and in case of a hypothetical military conflict they will become Russia’s priority target, the chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, Konstantin Kosachyov, said on Thursday.

"I can forecast that the United States will most likely deploy intermediate and shorter range missiles as close as possible to the Russian borders - in the West and in the East, in Europe and in Asia," Kosachyov said a meeting with a delegation of the Stanford Russia-US Forum.

Should US missiles emerge near Russian borders, he said, two scenarios might be possible.

"One will be triggered automatically: all of them will become targets for Russia’s counter-weapons. They will be the first to be destroyed, should the risk of a military conflict grow," Kosachyov said.

The other scenario might involve likely deployment of Russian intermediate and shorter range missiles, currently outlawed under the treaty. This may happen in Russian territory near Russia’s neighbors or in the territory of Russia’s allies.

Kosachyov pointed out that both options were purely hypothetical, though.

"No decisions on that score have been taken yet," he said.

Also, he remarked he by no means welcomed the idea of preventive action by Russia and voiced the certainty that Moscow’s countermoves would be forced ones, taken in retaliation to US actions.

US intention to quit INF Treaty

President Donald Trump on October 20 and 22 declared in public the United States’ intention to pull out from the INF Treaty. No official notification has been delivered from Washington to Moscow yet. US presidential national security adviser John Bolton said on October 31 that the notification would follow in due time.

The United States for the first time accused Russia of violating the INF Treaty in July 2014. Washington has since reiterated the charges on many occasions. Each time Moscow expressed its strong disagreement and put forward its own counterclaims regarding the United States non-compliance. The INF Treaty was concluded in Washington on December 8, 1987.