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German MPs Want Russia to Move 9M729 to 'Other Side of the Urals' to Save INF

Moscow has repeatedly rejected Washington's accusations that Russia's 9M729 missiles violate the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Earlier this week, the US announced the beginning of its withdrawal from the agreement.
Sputnik

Russia may preserve the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty if it moves its new 9M729 missiles to the east of the mountain range that divides Europe from Asia, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine reports.

The newspaper cited Christian Democratic Union (CDU) member Roderich Kiesewetter and Rolf Mutzenich from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) as saying that the 9M729 missiles should be deployed to "the other side of the Ural Mountains so that they cannot reach Europe".

READ MORE: From 'Bad News' to 'Full Support': How World Powers Reacted to INF's Collapse

According to them, the implementation of such a plan would help the sides "build trust" and allow the US to resume a dialogue with Moscow.

Both politicians argued that "for its part, Washington could allow Moscow to inspect US interceptor missiles in Romania".

At the same time, they noted that the possible redeployment of Russian missiles should be carried out in a verifiable way in order to exclude the possibility of their sudden transportation closer to EU borders.

READ MORE: INF Treaty is More Important Than US-Russia Bilateral Relations' – Scholar

On 2 February 2019, the US State Department announced that Washington has suspended its obligations under the INF Treaty, adding that the withdrawal process will be complete within six months.

US Was Preparing to Produce Missiles Banned Under INF Over Past 2 Years - MoD
Russia responded in kind, with President Vladimir Putin declaring that Moscow is "suspending participation in the [INF] Treaty as well" and that like Washington, it will be are engaged in research and development.

Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it plain that she would continue talks to preserve the landmark treaty, while German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted that without the INF Treaty, the world will become less safe.

The US has repeatedly claimed that Russia is violating the treaty by testing 9M729 (NATO reporting name SSC-8) missiles at ranges banned by the agreement. Russia has refuted the accusations, insisting that the missile's maximum range of 480km is in line with the INF Treaty requirements.

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