US accuses Russia of challenging nuclear deterrence
(Baonghean.vn) - As the deadline for the US and Russia to withdraw from the nuclear agreement approaches, the Pentagon has accused Moscow of challenging its nuclear deterrence capabilities.
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| The US accuses Russia of challenging its nuclear deterrent. Photo: AP |
On July 21, US Deputy Secretary of Defense John Rood said that the Pentagon considers Russia's current military doctrine a challenge to America's nuclear deterrence capabilities.
Speaking at the Aspen security forum in Colorado (USA), this official said that Russia is increasing its tactical nuclear capabilities while the US "has not produced any additional nuclear weapons in decades".
“We also have to look across the board and speak out about where there is destabilizing activity, where we can restore deterrence, and where deterrence is being challenged,” Rood said. “We think the challenge is Russia’s military doctrine, where they can use small-scale nuclear weapons against the United States and our allies to some extent without facing a similar response.”
The US deputy defense secretary continued to accuse Moscow of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The treaty banned land-based missiles with ranges of 500-5,500 km, signed by the US and the Soviet Union in 1987. “We are also concerned about the future and are working with the Chinese and Russians to convince them that these approaches are not sustainable and that they will not control the security that they want,” Rood added.
Moscow has not yet responded to Rood’s remarks. The US began accusing Russia of violating the INF in 2014 and has repeatedly reiterated the accusation. Moscow has always denied the suspicion and counter-accused Washington.
On February 1, 2019, President Donald Trump announced that Washington was suspending its compliance with the INF Treaty and would formally withdraw from the treaty six months later unless Russia took steps to comply. A day later, Russian President Vladimir Putin also announced that he was suspending compliance with the agreement and would not engage in dialogue until the United States was ready for a fair and effective exchange.
The bill to withdraw from the treaty on August 6 was passed by the Russian lower house of parliament on June 18 and the upper house of parliament on June 26, before President Putin signed it into law on July 3. Meanwhile, the US said it would formally withdraw from the agreement on August 2 unless Russia destroyed the weapons system that Washington accused of violating, the Novator 9M729.
