"If we compare it in absolute terms who incurred more costs, it can be noted that the USSR decommissioned 1,846 missile systems, and the US 846… The difference is a thousand combat units. We destroyed almost three times more missile launchers than the US did [851 and 283 respectively]. The dismantled Soviet missiles could carry almost four times more nuclear warheads: 3,154 against 846," Bondarev said.
According to Bondarev, Russia destroyed the weapons prohibited by the treaty, while the US dismantled and stockpiled them.
"And now the US is once again demanding unilateral concessions from us. However, our country is no longer the one with which the United States concluded the INF Treaty on favorable terms. Today Russia is strong and we will not tolerate pressure on us," the lawmaker stressed.
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According to him, the United States prefers to dominate and is not ready for a dialogue on equal terms.
The remarks come after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at an extended session of the Russian Defense Ministry panel that it was unclear why Soviet Union's leadership had decided to disarm unilaterally upon concluding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the United States.
In recent years, Moscow and Washington have regularly accused each other of violating the INF Treaty. Russia has repeatedly stated that it strictly complies with its obligations under the contract. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has noted that Moscow has very serious questions regarding the implementation of the treaty by the United States.
Moscow, meanwhile, has repeatedly refuted US allegations that Russia has violated the 1987 INF treaty, which bans ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (311 to 3,417 miles). In turn, Moscow has complained that launchers on US defence systems in Europe can fire cruise missiles at ranges that violate the INF’s terms.