Russia Perplexed Whether US Wants To End INF Or Continue Dialogue To Keep Deal - Ryabkov

Russia does not understand whether the United States wants the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) to be ended or is ready to work jointly with Russia to preserve the agreement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik Thursday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th January, 2019) Russia does not understand whether the United States wants the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) to be ended or is ready to work jointly with Russia to preserve the agreement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Sputnik Thursday.

US Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said Wednesday that Washington would completely withdraw from the INF Treaty after a six-months transition period starting on February 2, and urged Moscow to provide convincing evidence of compliance with the INF during this period to save the 1987 pact.

"We don't understand the essence of the US current position.

Do our partners in Washington want us to work toward preserving the treaty or have they finally decided that following suspension of the treaty, as they told us clearly at the consultations [in Geneva], the official and complete withdrawal from the treaty will follow?" the official said.

Ryabkov recalled Russia's statements on US deploying Aegis Ashore systems in Europe and the capacity of these systems to fire missiles banned under the treaty.

"Therefore, in asking how Russia is going to fulfill the treaty, the US side is wrong, to say the least, and strictly speaking provocative," the diplomat added.