Moscow is considering withdrawing from the moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. According to him, Russia is allegedly "forced to react to the emergence of new and, moreover, very sensitive missile threats." This is reported by UNN with reference to Deutsche Welle.
Details
The Russian moratorium on the deployment of ground-based intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles (IRBMs) is "nearing its logical conclusion," Ryabkov said.
He justified this by the fact that Russia does not see "any cardinal changes, let alone reversals in the US plans for further forward deployment of ground-based intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles in various regions of the world" and assumes that this activity "will only increase."
The reality is that the restraint shown by Russia in the field of "post-INF Treaty" was not appreciated by the US and its allies and was not reciprocated
Addition
In October 2018, then-US President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), accusing Russia of violating it. According to Washington, the Russian 9M729 missile of the Iskander complex, or SSC-8 according to NATO classification, which can be equipped with a nuclear warhead, is capable of flying much further than the 500 km claimed by Moscow, and when deployed in the Kaliningrad region, it is capable of reaching Western European capitals.
Moscow denies that the Iskander missiles violate the INF Treaty. At the end of November 2018, Sergei Ryabkov called the US statements about Moscow's violation of the INF Treaty "unfounded" and "groundless." In August 2019, he said in an interview that shortly before the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Moscow proposed to Washington and NATO a moratorium on the deployment of such missiles in Europe.
Let us remind you
NATO is asking its European member states to increase their ground-based air defense capabilities fivefold as the alliance seeks to fill a key gap in response to the threat of Russian aggression. The Alliance is insisting on a fivefold increase in ground-based air defense.