Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
9/12/2014
U.S. and Russian officials made no progress in talks late this week about accusations that Russia has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department. The U.S. delegation, led by Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller, traveled to Moscow Sept. 11 for the talks. “Both sides acknowledged the importance of the INF Treaty and reconfirmed their commitment to it,” the State Department said. “Although the U.S. concerns were not assuaged in this meeting, the parties had a useful exchange of views. They agreed to continue the dialogue.”
The 1987 INF Treaty prohibits ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges from 500 to 5,000 kilometers. The U.S. has accused Russia of violating the agreement by testing its R-500 cruise missile, and has asked Russia to destroy all missiles and launchers involved in tests that violate the INF Treaty.
The U.S. first requested the talks when it accused Russia of the treaty violations this summer. Russia has previously questioned the utility of the treaty but has publicly said recently that it remains committed to the pact. It has also countered U.S. claims with its own contentions that the U.S. has violated the treaty with its production of armed drones. A Russian official told the ITAR-Tass news agency that Moscow was not happy with the talks. “We were not satisfied with their answers," Russian Foreign Ministry arms control chief Mikhail Ulyanov told ITAR-Tass, adding: “We would have liked our American colleagues to have formed their concerns more clearly and understandably, not in general, but concretely.”
