The Kremlin expressed concern Monday about U.S. President Donald Trump"s pledge to pull out of a key Cold War arms deal with Russia, saying the move would "make the world a more dangerous place."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia has not violated the treaty and if the United States goes on to develop new missiles then Russia would be forced to respond in kind.
Peskov said Russian officials want to get more information about the U.S. plans regarding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty during talks this week with National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Bolton is due to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Monday and President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has accused Russia of building and testing missiles that violate the 1987 treaty.
The deal bans the U.S. and Russia from building, testing, and stockpiling ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range from 500 to 5,000 kilometers.
President Trump Saturday said Moscow has violated the agreement.
"They have been violating it for many years. And we"re not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement and go out and do weapons and we are not allowed to," he said.
U.S. officials going back to the Obama administration have accused Russia of deliberately deploying a land-based cruise missile to pose a threat to NATO.
Russia has denied violating the INF agreement and says U.S. missile defense systems are a violation.
Many so-called hawks in Washington say the INF treaty keeps the U.S. from developing a new generation of weapons in a world that faces new global security challenges.
“We"ll have to develop those weapons, unless Russia comes to us and China comes to us and they all come to us and say let"s really get smart and let"s none of us develop those weapons, but if Russia"s doing it and if China"s doing it, and we"re adhering to the agreement, that"s unacceptable,” Trump said.
China is not part of the INF agreement.克里姆林宫周一对美国总统特朗普誓言退出与俄罗斯签署的一项冷战时期的关键性武器协议表示担忧,并表示此举将“让世界变得更加危险”。
克里姆林宫发言人佩斯科夫告诉记者书,俄罗斯没有违反该条约,如果美国下一步开始开发新型导弹,那么俄罗斯将被迫作出实质性回应。
佩斯科夫说,俄罗斯官员希望在本周与美国国家安全顾问博尔顿会谈期间了解美国对于中程导弹条约相关计划的更多信息。
博尔顿周一将与俄罗斯外交部长拉夫罗夫和总统普京会晤。
美国总统特朗普指责俄罗斯建造和测试的导弹违反了1987年签署的那项条约。
该协议禁止美国和俄罗斯建造、测试和储存于地面发射、射程为500至5,000公里的核导弹。
特朗普总统星期六说,莫斯科违反了这一协议。他说:“他们多年来一直违反它。我们不会允许让他们违反一项核协议去制造武器,而我们不可以。”
早在奥巴马政府时期的美国官员就曾指责俄罗斯蓄意部署陆基巡航导弹,对北约构成威胁。
俄罗斯否认违反中程导弹条约,并称美国的导弹防御系统是违法行为。
华盛顿的许多所谓鹰派人士表示,由于中程导弹条约的限制,美国无法在面临新的全球安全挑战时开发新一代武器。
特朗普总统说:“我们必须开发这些武器,除非俄罗斯来找我们,中国来找我们说,我们真的不要互相圈子了,我们谁也不要开发这些武器了,但如果俄罗斯在开发,中国在开发,只有我们遵守协议,这是不可接收的。”
中国不包括在中程导弹条约之内。