Russia Accuses US of Violating Bilateral Nuclear Disarmament Treaty
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The United States continues testing its missile defense systems and producing missiles which are prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty aimed at limiting strategic weapons, said a Russian military official on Monday.
In an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, the head of the National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said that Washington continues producing a series of target missiles.
The missiles' tactical and technical characteristics, especially the flight range, belong to the class of short-range and medium-range missiles, Ryzhkov said, Xinhua news agency reported.
These missiles, according to the official, are of a general type and can be installed with different warheads as combat ballistic missiles.
The development and testing of such missiles pose a precedent for the circumvention of the INF Treaty, since these missiles are capable of delivering weapons at ranges limited by the treaty, added Ryzhkov.
The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 by the former Soviet Union and the United States to ban the development, deployment and testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 300 miles (483 km) and 3,400 miles (5472 km). Moscow and Washington have repeatedly accused each other of violating the treaty.
