The USA withdrew from the INF treaty in early February. Now, Russia officially ends fulfilling its liabilities. Vladimir Putin signed this decree. This happened because the USA violated its own liabilities. Russia will renew the treaty only when Washington improves them. By the same decree, Putin ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform the treaty member states that Russia suspends its participation in it.
Right now, Leonid Slutsky, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs is live with us.
- Leonid Eduardovich, hello.
- Good Evening, Anton, good evening, dear colleagues.
- Can you comment on what's happening?
- Well, as soon as we found out that Washington will soon start its withdrawal from the INF treaty, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the response would be mirror-like. He ordered the respective agencies to stop initiating negotiations on this topic. We're not breaking our cooperation in this area.
Let me remind you, that if the INF treaty, God forbid, stops functioning, it would result in not extending the New START treaty in 2021. I don't want to make apocalyptic forecasts but basically, it threatens the destruction of the planet's complete nuclear deterrence system which has been in place for decades, including due to the efforts by Soviet and Russian specialists. We hope that the United States will have enough common sense to return to normal cooperation. We also hope that Europe will fulfill its 1980s when the anti-war movement in Europe got the West thinking. I mean, the far West. Maybe now Europe will also have enough common sense to focus attention on this very problem because this threatens the peaceful, stable, and secure architecture of the 21st century. Anyway, it doesn't seem that Europe has given it serious thought, for now, although individual voices are heard in the European Parliament, in many expert collectives, and on many platforms.
Nevertheless, for now, we've made a mirror response. I must say that this mirror response will show within the next weeks whether Washington reacts somehow, and how constructive and specific this reaction would be. I think that in the framework of our UN diplomacy, we will do our best so that our counterparts, with whom we've never stopped cooperating, although it's practically frozen in the official framework, what they can do. I'll say it once again, so that common sense will prevail in Washington. And then the cooperation in this most vital, without any fantastic, sphere for humanity would be restored.
- Yes. Leonid Eduardovich, if you say tell it briefly: it's time that we remind our viewers what Moscow wants from Washington. As we understand, even when the treaty was officially in effect, the USA continued to develop prohibited missiles.
- Yes, Anton, briefly: the USA did continue to develop prohibited missiles. Meanwhile, they accused us of doing the same, that we're developing something prohibited. We submitted the controversial missile to the approval of famous experts and journalists. The U.S. used this missile as a fig leaf, justifying their withdrawal from the INF. But it had no effect on our counterparts from Washington. From this point of view: what do we want? It's a good question. We want a professional, rational approach. We want the experts to start cooperating again. This, in its turn, may lead to some constructiveness, which we don't see now.
Regarding our mirror response: Russia will not allow its image in the world to be malformed, just like the United States is trying to do. We respond rationally, professionally, adequately. We present our stance on all of the major international platforms. But I do hope that in the next few weeks some constructiveness will appear. For now we…
- Okay, we will count on that. Thank you. Unfortunately, we are limited in time. We will wait until common sense prevails and it will happen the near future. Thank you.
To recap, Leonid Slutsky, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs was live with us.
