Russian President Vladimir Putin met with permanent members of the country's Security Council on Friday to discuss the fate of the now defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and issued a statement afterward that contained his assessment of Washington's first test since the treaty's demise and Moscow's intended reaction
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd August, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin met with permanent members of the country's Security Council on Friday to discuss the fate of the now defunct Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and issued a statement afterward that contained his assessment of Washington's first test since the treaty's demise and Moscow's intended reaction.On Sunday, a mere two weeks after the INF Treaty was terminated at the initiative of the United States, the Pentagon announced that it had conducted a test flight of a conventional ground-launched cruise missile that flew beyond 500 kilometers (310 miles), a prohibited range under the INF, before hitting its target.
The meeting in Moscow was attended by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, lower house Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin.
US ORCHESTRATED CAMPAIGN TO TERMINATE TREATY
"The United States orchestrated a propagandist campaign about Russia allegedly violating the INF. It is evident now that its only purpose was to cover actions that violated the treaty and, essentially, its intention to withdraw from it," Putin said.
Indeed, US officials have repeatedly accused Russia of breaching the nuclear pact by developing advanced ballistic and hyper-sonic delivery systems and otherwise upgrading its inventory. Moscow has been consistent in denying all accusations.
"Having removed the limitations, the United States untied its hands [so that it could] develop previously banned weapons in different parts of the world," Putin said.
According to the Russian president, Moscow has long known that Washington was developing weapons prohibited under the treaty.
Moreover, the fact that the tests took place only 16 days after the INF Treaty ceased to exist only proves Russia was right to be concerned.
"The United States claims that the deployment of new systems might be launched from the Pacific, but it touches upon Russia's inherent interests as well," Putin said.
RUSSIA TO RESPOND PROPORITIONALLY
Russia will not engage in an arms race, which would be "costly and destructive" for the national economy, but also not ignore Washington's actions, according to his statement.
"Our development of cutting-edge weapons, unrivaled elsewhere in the world, was caused and, one might say, provoked by the United States unilaterally quitting the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2003. We were forced to and we had to ensure the security of our people and our country. We are doing it now and we will definitely be doing this in the future," Putin said.
He also pointed to the fact that Washington, in its recent tests, used MK41 launchers, previously claimed by the United States to be incapable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles, thus rendering its own claims false. Putin went on to question whether the launchers Washington was set to deploy to Romania and Poland would be for the purpose of anti-missile defense or launching offensive missiles at farther ranges.
"With that, given the newly developing circumstances, I task the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry and other agencies to analyze the level of threat that the US actions pose and take comprehensive measures to prepare a reciprocal response," Putin said.
He concluded by saying that Russia remained open to engaging in an "equal and constructive" dialogue withe the United States with the aim of restoring trust and strengthening international security.
The INF Treaty was signed by Russia and the United States in 1987. The countries agreed to eliminate and permanently forswear all nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
In February, the United States formally suspended its obligations under the military pact, triggering a six-month withdrawal process. In between then and August 2, when the treaty was officially abandoned, numerous high-ranking US officials voiced concerns about Russia modernizing its arsenal and China developing intermediate-range arms while the United States had its "hands tied" by the INF.
On July 31, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said his country was interested in considering a new similar agreement that would include both Russia and China. Beijing later ruled out the possibility of such an accord.
In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending Russia's participation in the accord.
