The State Department has shed more light on the circumstances surrounding Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, highlighting in a new report its outreach to Moscow on the matter.
The INF Treaty prohibits the fielding of ground-based cruise and ballistic missiles with flight ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. U.S. officials have been concerned about Russian adherence to the agreement since 2013, determining earlier this year that Russia has not only flight tested, but also deployed such a cruise missile.
The State Department’s arms control compliance report for 2016 said that while the United States is complying with the INF Treaty, Russia remains in violation, even after Washington raised concerns with Moscow over the last few years. The U.S. has provided “more than enough information for the Russian side to identify the missile in question and engage substantively on the issue of its obligations under the INF Treaty,” the report said.
This includes information about the missile and launcher – as well as the names of companies that developed and produced them – and the test history of the cruise missile, such as the coordinates of the flight tests. These details were not revealed in the report, however.
The report also noted that the violating system falls within the 500-to-5,500-kilometer range capability and “is distinct from the R-500/SSC-7 GLCM or the RS-26 ICBM.” The R-500 is the Iskander cruise missile, a short-range system; the RS-26 is an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The latest State Department report provides greater detail than prior iterations about its engagement with Russia to attempt to address the violation, but remains tight-lipped about the specific weapon in question. Experts have speculated that the cruise missile might be the Iskander-M, a modified version of the R-500.
Navy Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said Thursday in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the violation involves a conventional cruise missile and that the United States should consider renegotiating the treaty – but not withdrawing from it.
“The United States will continue to pursue resolution of U.S. concerns with Russia, and the United States is consulting with allies to review a range of appropriate options should Russia persist in its violation,” the State Department report said.
It also said that the United States remains in compliance with all of its obligations under arms control agreements to which it is a party, including the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the Chemical Weapons Convention.
