The United States has not provided Russia with specific proof to substantiate its claims that the ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile (Russian designation 9M729) violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2019) The United States has not provided Russia with specific proof to substantiate its claims that the ground-launched SSC-8 cruise missile (Russian designation 9M729) violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik Thursday.
The United States has repeatedly raised concerns about Russia developing the SSC-8 cruise missile whose range is between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (311 and 3,418 miles). US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said Wednesday that Russia had the opportunity until February 2 to provide convincing evidence of compliance with the INF or Washington would start complete withdrawal from the treaty.
"We fulfill the contract in full, without exemptions, without exceptions, without deviations from the requirements. Our 9M729 system has never been tested for a range banned by the contract. We see no other reasons why the United States would make claims to us regarding the treaty and specifically regarding this system. The United States was unable to provide us with specific reasons why it concluded that this missile did not not meet the requirements of the treaty," the official said.
According to Ryabkov, US claims on Russia's alleged violations are nothing more than "sweet icing used to cover a void position."
"We will continue to emphasize that this icing has nothing under it: there is no dough, no content, no substance at all. It's all fake. They are illusionists in the field of arms control policies who are trying to mislead NATO allies and the international community as a whole," the diplomat said.
The United States must turn to fulfilling its own obligations under the deal to ensure the treaty's survival, Ryabkov said, adding that if Washington is not ready to the dialogue with Russia, the responsibility for the failure of the pact would rest with the US party.
