The US withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty must be backed by American firepower which requires expediting the development of a new generation of ground-launched missiles, US Senator Tom Cotton said in a statement on Friday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2019) The US withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty must be backed by American firepower which requires expediting the development of a new generation of ground-launched missiles, US Senator Tom Cotton said in a statement on Friday.Earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the United States will suspend its obligations under the INF Treaty on February 2 and will begin the six-month withdrawal process unless Russia comes back into compliance in that period.
"Withdrawing from the INF Treaty is a good start; now this action must be backed by American firepower," Cotton said. "The United States must regain the strategic advantage by expediting the development and deployment of a new generation of ground-launched missiles."
Cotton accused Russia of violating the INF Treaty for years and highlighted China's stockpile of thousands of missiles that threaten the United States and its allies in the Pacific region.
The INF Treaty, signed in 1987, bans all cruise or ground-launched ballistic missiles with ranges between 310 and 3,400 miles. The United States has repeatedly claimed that in 2014 Russia tested a weapon, the 9M729 missile, at a range that violated the treaty's terms, allegations Moscow has denied. Russia, for its part, has complained that launchers on US defense systems in Europe violate the accord because they are capable of firing cruise missiles at banned ranges.
