MOSCOW, Russia, Feb 3 (NNN-ITAR-TASS) – The Russian government will provide necessary mechanisms to finance the development of new weapons, Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev said, in response to Washington’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).
“Given the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty and the response steps announced by the President of Russia, the government of the Russian Federation will provide the necessary means and mechanisms, to finance the development of new types of weapons,” Medvedev said, on Twitter.
The “unilateral, unprovoked” U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty worsens the situation around international security and strategic stability, which will definitely meet an effective response from the Russian side, he said.
The Trump administration announced on Friday that the United States is withdrawing from the INF Treaty with Russia within six months, starting from Feb 2 (yesterday).
Earlier in the day, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announced that Russia would suspend its participation in the INF Treaty, in a mirror response to the United States’ decision.
At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, and Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, Putin backed Shoigu’s proposal to develop new arms, including ground-based complexes of hyper-sonic medium- and shorter-range ballistic missiles.
The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 between the Soviet Union and the United States, on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.
Moscow and Washington have been accusing each other of violating the agreement in recent years, amid increasing tension between the two countries.– NNN-ITAR-TASS