MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. Russia’s proposals to Washington and other NATO states embrace a reciprocal moratorium on deploying land-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles (the post-INF proposal) and work on removing mutual concerns, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Vladimir Yermakov told TASS on Thursday.
"Let us recall that for the purposes of reaching mutually acceptable solutions, we proposed that the United States and other NATO countries both assume reciprocal commitments in response to a moratorium announced by Russia on deploying land-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles and work jointly on settling the sides’ existing concerns. We outlined realistic patterns for elaborating potential measures of verification," the senior Russian diplomat said.
Given that required political decisions are made in favor of such joint efforts, experts could start working on technical issues in depth, he added.
A missile crisis cannot be avoided, if efforts fail to ensure restraint and predictability in this sphere, the high-ranking Russian diplomat stressed.
"The initiatives that we put forward earlier to ensure restraint and predictability in the missile sphere in the wake of the termination of the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty had been ignored for a long time and were actually rejected at the NATO summit in June 2021," he pointed out.
"We keep insisting on the priority task of reaching a fundamental understanding that the problems arising in this sphere should be addressed immediately. Otherwise, new ‘missile’ crises cannot be avoided," the senior Russian diplomat cautioned.
Moscow observes US preparations for deploying land-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, he said.
"The United States continues active testing of advanced land-based intermediate- and shorter-range missiles and is making preparations for their deployment in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. All these moves are taking place with the acquiescence or even with the support of NATO members," Yermakov pointed out.