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Moscow Calls on NATO to Refrain From Accusing Russia of Violating INF Treaty

The Russian Foreign Ministry has commented on the statements of the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg on the subject of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), including the call on Moscow “to observe the Treaty in a transparent and verifiable manner."
Sputnik

Russia advises NATO to refrain from groundless accusations against Russia of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, as the alliance is not ready to assess the US actions under the treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

"If the alliance's structures are not ready to give an objective assessment of Washington's actions contrary to the INF Treaty, then, apparently, it would be more appropriate to totally refrain from any ungrounded and tendentious statements on the issue," the ministry said.

READ MORE: Deployment of US Aegis Systems in Japan Has No Relation to INF Treaty — Tokyo

The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that, in particular, it is a question of wide application, including "during the joint operations with NATO countries of combat operations, the UAV, which the United States unilaterally withdrew from the INF treaty."

"If the structures of the alliance are not ready to provide an objective assessment of Washington's actions, which contradict the INF, then, apparently, it would be more appropriate to refrain altogether from making any unreasonable or biased statements on this topic," the Foreign Ministry stressed.

Earlier, Thomas Countryman, the chairman of the board of the US-based Arms Control Association, said that there was prospective for US-Russian dialogue on the new arms control deal.

US Blacklists 2 Russian Companies Over Alleged INF Treaty Violations
The INF Treaty was signed by Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan on December 8, 1987. The Treaty prohibits the development, deployment and testing medium-range and shorter-range ballistic missiles and ground-launched cruise missiles. They sides also pledged to eliminate all launchers and ground-based missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometers. The United States and Russia have constantly accused each other of violating the treaty.

The United States and Russia have constantly accused each other of violating the treaty.

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