MOSCOW, May 29. /TASS/. The US may approach other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, apart from the Philippines, to deploy its intermediate-range and short-range missiles on their territory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"Initially, the US withdrew from the INF Treaty (the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty - TASS) to explore new prospects, including the Philippines. However, I am sure that other countries in the Asia-Pacific region will soon receive requests to allow the stationing of such [US] weapons on their territory," the top diplomat said at a meeting on the Ukrainian conflict settlement with the heads of foreign diplomatic missions.
The US suspended its participation in the INF Treaty on February 2, 2019 following allegations that Russia violated the treaty. Washington first mentioned this in July 2014. According to the US administration, Russia violated the treaty by building the 9M729 missile. Moscow rejected these accusations and presented a number of counterclaims, for example, concerning elements of the US missile defense system in Europe.
In September 2019, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin had sent a proposal to the leaders of several countries, including NATO members, to impose a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range and short-range missiles in Europe and other regions. The United States subsequently effectively rejected this initiative.