US Secretary of State: “Russia is undermining US security”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

"President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants to have a good relationship with the Russians. We need them to do some things and change their behavior. Russia is creating challenges, creating problems, Russia is undermining the security of the United States," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.

"We need Russia to return to compliance with the Missile Treaty, as well as with the agreements they have signed. If we can convince the Russians, then we should engage in dialogue with them. I personally did that when I was CIA Director, I engaged with my Russian counterpart," Pompeo added.

The United States and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of not complying with the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, and the United States has even threatened to withdraw from the INF.

"If we can have conversations that force Russia to change its behavior in a way that no longer poses a threat to Americans, that would be an extremely good thing. And I urge President Donald Trump and other members of the US cabinet to do so," the US Secretary of State concluded.

Moscow has repeatedly stated that Russia strictly complies with all its obligations under the treaty. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Moscow has very serious questions for the United States about how the Americans implement the treaty. In particular, Moscow pointed out that the United States deploys on land, at military bases in Romania and in Poland, stations capable of launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, which are prohibited under the treaty. The Russian side also noted that the United States is developing unmanned attack vehicles, funding research into the creation of land-based cruise missiles.