Russia ‘closely watching US work on new weapon systems’
Russia says it is closely watching the United States’ work on developing new weapon systems, months after Washington abandoned an arms control treaty with Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russian authorities “are actually keeping a close watch on Washington’s actions with regard to the development of new weapon systems.”
Back in early August, Washington officially withdrew from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which had been concluded in 1987 by then-US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
The INF had banned all land-based missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers and covered missiles carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads.
Peskov said that what the US was doing in researching and developing intermediate- and shorter-range missiles was in violation of the INF, stressing that the US conduct in this regard “was the cause of the dismantling of this very important document from the viewpoint of international security.”
He further said that Moscow had no intention of being drawn into a new arms race, although the Kremlin fears a new round of such rivalry.
“The Kremlin fears a new spiral in the arms race. At the same time, I would like to remind you of President [Vladimir] Putin’s words that Russia will not be drawn in that potential arms race, because it laid the groundwork for years to come in terms of technological superiority to ensure our country’s security and to ensure parity,” Peskov added.
Peskov’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump claimed in his trademark braggadocious tone that the US was “now developing incredible new weapons. We have weapons that no one can even imagine.”
Days after Washington scrapped the INF, the US Defense Department announced that it had tested a type of ground-launched missile that had been banned under the treaty. Shortly after the announcement, Moscow warned that the new US missile had heightened military tensions and risks triggering an arms race.
The Pentagon said the missile blasted from a launcher on San Nicolas Island, a Navy test site off the coast of Los Angeles, California, and sped above the Pacific Ocean for more than 500 kilometers before striking its designated target.
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