Russia Fully Complies With INF Treaty Despite Not Meeting Moscow's Interests

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia has been and will be committed to obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday, rejecting any accusations of violating the Russian-US pact.

Peskov noted that Moscow exhibits flexibility on the 1987 treaty despite it not fully corresponding to Russian interests.

"Russia has been, remains and will remain committed to all international obligations, including those arising from the INF Treaty," Peskov told reporters. "Russia remains committed to international obligations even in situations where it does not exactly correspond to Russia's interests, sometimes we are forced to show flexibility, which we do."

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Gen. Paul Selva said in congressional testimony Wednesday that Washington aims to "look for leverage points" seeking Moscow's compliance with the INF Treaty. The testimony came nearly a month after US media reports claimed Russia secretly sent ground-based cruise missiles which Selva claimed violates the "spirit and intent" of the INF Treaty.

"In the situation with Russia and our Eurasian geopolitical situation, we have a completely different architecture of possible threats to our security. Nevertheless, Russia still remains committed to its obligations, so we disagree and reject any accusations on this point," Peskov stressed.