A recent article by The Libertarian Institute detailed the Kremlin’s unwillingness to engage with the White House on arms control issues due to the perceived Russophobic stance of the Biden administration. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov argued that President Donald Trump left the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) in an effort to provoke China.
In an interview with The International Affairs published on Monday, Ryabkov explained Moscow’s position on arms control talks with Washington. We do not have the foundation right now and we are not even close to shaping one in order to launch a tentative dialogue, not talks even, in this field. This is a result of Washington’s destructive policy course,” he stated.
Ryabkov emphasized that a change for the better was needed in US policy, particularly regarding their boundless and unabashed Russophobia. Until this occurs, there can be no dialogue on strategic stability between Russia and the United States.
Since the end of the Cold War, Washington has abandoned numerous agreements limiting both conventional and nuclear arsenals for the US and Russia. In response to the White House’s support for Kiev, the Kremlin also left the New Start Treaty.
The decline in global arms control agreements has been accompanied by a surge in spending on nuclear weapons and arms overall. Both Beijing and Moscow view launchers as highly provocative, with Ryabkov stating that Trump left the INF Treaty to create intermediate-range missiles intended to intimidate China.
Recently, Washington and Moscow have taken steps to use arms limited by the INF Treaty, which barred land-based missiles and launchers with a range of 300-3,400 miles. The US has deployed covert launchers for intermediate-range missiles in Denmark and the Philippines for war games. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow would begin producing weapons prohibited by the INF Treaty, stating, “We need to start production of these strike systems and then, based on the actual situation, make decisions about where — if necessary to ensure our safety — to place them.
