Washington strongly rejects allegations that it violates the INF Treaty.
“The INF Treaty no longer exists because of Russia. The United States is taking the necessary steps to respond to the threats posed by medium-range missiles posed in large numbers by Russia and China, and this is what the INF Treaty tried to restrain,” he said on Thursday at the UN Security Council, US acting ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Cohen – The American flight test of a conventional ground-based missile is neither provocative nor destabilizing, but an answer aimed at providing opportunities to protect our national interactions. AIAM in the world after the INF Treaty, which created the Russian. ”
Earlier in August, the Pentagon tested a new ground-based cruise missile, the specifications of which run counter to the terminated Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty).
The test was conducted on August 18 off the west coast of the United States.
“The Department of Defense carried out a flight test of a land-based cruise missile with a non-nuclear warhead on Sunday off the west coast of the United States. We are currently evaluating the test results,” US Army Lieutenant Colonel Carla Gleason told CNN.
The rocket was launched from the island of San Nicholas in the Pacific Ocean.
The Pentagon noted that the missile launched from a “land mobile launcher and precisely hit the target after more than 500 km of flight” and emphasized that the missile was designed to deliver conventional rather than nuclear warheads.
The Defense Department also said that the test results will contribute to the development of the US medium-range missiles.
In turn, the Defense News publication noted that this is the first test of a rocket of this class after the US exited the INF Treaty.
On August 2, the United States officially left the INF Treaty. Washington blames the Russian Federation for this, which, in his opinion, did not comply with the treaty. In Russia, such accusations are considered unfounded.