US and Russian officials discuss Intermediate-Range Nuclear Treaty

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Photo: TASS

"It is regrettable that no progress will be made. The US position remains stubborn and asserts itself as if it were final," Deputy Minister Ryabkov said.

Mr. Ryabkov added that Russia would not be able to dialogue in the face of US threats. "Washington is not yet ready to have a deeper dialogue with Moscow on this issue," - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister affirmed. The meeting between Deputy Foreign Ministers Ryabkov and Thompson took place in Beijing and lasted less than 1 hour.

The Russian diplomat stressed that the 60-day ultimatum issued by the US was only intended to cover up its decision to leave the INF Treaty, and Washington must bear full responsibility for this situation.

According to Deputy Minister Ryakov, the lack of progress in dialogue with the United States has raised deep concerns in Russia, especially regarding European security. However, the Russian side continues its efforts. Mr. Ryabkov affirmed: "But we will not give up. We are ready to find a solution, but from now on everything will become much more difficult."

On the US side, US officials asserted that Russia's 9M729 cruise missile with a range of nearly 5,500 km exceeded the provisions of the INF Treaty, and demanded that Russia eliminate all these missiles, while threatening to withdraw from the INF Treaty. Russia has repeatedly rejected this request from the US, claiming that this new Russian missile is completely non-violating.

Earlier, on October 20, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the INF Treaty. On January 15, Russia and the US met to discuss the INF Treaty in Geneva. Washington once again accused Moscow of violating the agreement. The US threatened to leave the treaty on February 2 unless Russia destroyed all 9M729 missiles.

The US first accused Russia of violating the treaty in July 2014. The US has since repeated this claim several times, but Russia has denied all accusations and returned the accusations to the US.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed between the United States and the (former) Soviet Union on December 8, 1987 in Washington DC.