The initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin on reciprocal moratoriums on the deployment of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles (INF) has become even more relevant in the current conditions. This was announced on Friday, November 19, by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.
"The president's proposal on reciprocal moratoriums remains in force, it is all the more in demand in the current conditions, and, of course, we proceed from the fact that healthy forces, including those in NATO, who are aware of all the detrimental consequences for European security, the prospects of turning our continent into an arena of confrontation on the lines of the Cold War, should draw conclusions and, finally, show political will to continue talking on this topic," he stressed in an interview with TASS.
On November 2, Russian Senator Alexei Pushkov pointed out that the basis of the US nuclear strategy is criminal stupidity. According to him, the introduction of new technologies does not contribute to the security of the United States, but undermines it.
On the same day, the deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Ryabkov, said that Russia expects the United States to take "any steps" towards certainty on the use of nuclear weapons. He said that Moscow is ready to discuss the possibility of negotiations on this topic with representatives of the US presidential administration at the intergovernmental level within the framework of the Russia–USA strategic dialogue.
On October 27, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concern about the US' desire to deploy medium- and shorter-range missiles (INF) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
He also recalled the proposal put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin a couple of years ago to the Americans and other NATO members. The initiative implies the introduction of a reciprocal moratorium on the deployment of such missiles in all regions of the world.
Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said on October 25 that the Russian Federation and the United States will discuss the INF in order to avoid an arms race. According to him, in the context of discussing the issue of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF), it is worth mentioning hypersonic non-nuclear weapons, strategic drones with an emphasis on those that are capable of solving strategic tasks.
The Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles was concluded between the USSR and the United States in 1987 and prohibited the two States from producing and deploying intermediate-range and shorter-range ballistic and cruise missiles.
In February 2019, Washington began the procedure for withdrawing from the INF Treaty, accusing Moscow of not fulfilling the points of the document due to the presence of the 9M729 missile, whose flight range allegedly exceeds permissible norms. In the Russian Federation, these accusations were rejected and expressed readiness to demonstrate the missile that raised questions, but they did not meet halfway in the United States.
