The Pentagon's budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 includes commitments to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller Elaine McCusker said on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2019) The Pentagon's budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 includes commitments to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller Elaine McCusker said on Tuesday."Our budget is INF compliant, but we have some modernization choices that we are going to have to make based on what is taking place," McCusker told reporters at the Pentagon.
McCusker acknowledged that in late 2017, the Pentagon, in response to what it believed were Russia's violations of the INF Treaty, began research on the development of conventional, ground-launched missile concepts. She insisted, however, that the Pentagon's past work remained in full compliance with the INF Treaty.
Going forward, however, the Pentagon could decide to take the same research in another direction now that the United States no longer bound by the INF Treaty, she said.
"We didn't do non INF compliant work in 2017," she said, but added: "There's advanced research that if taken in one direction could do one thing and if taken another could do another, and I think those are some of the decisions we're going to have to make on how we are going to do our modernization."
On February 2, the United States formally suspended its obligations under the INF Treaty and triggered a six-month withdrawal process. Washington has said it would terminate this procedure if Russia agreed to remain compliant with the accord. Russia has also suspended its participation in the INF Treaty, with Russian President Vladimir Putin having instructed the country's authorities not to initiate any new talks with Washington on the matter. Putin has, however, emphasized that all of Russia's earlier proposals remained on the table.
