Russia and US ‘very far from detente’ – Moscow

The Kremlin recently ditched self-imposed restrictions on intermediate-range missiles to “cool NATO hotheads,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said

While Washington has recently moved toward fixing relations with Moscow, celebrations would be premature, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. The diplomat added that Russia had earlier this month stopped abiding by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles to “cool hotheads in certain NATO capitals.”

While the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between Moscow and Washington collapsed in 2019, Russia had nonetheless continued observing the restrictions. During his first term in office, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the accord, citing supposed Russian violations – a claim the Kremlin has denied.

In an interview with broadcaster Rossiya-1 on Sunday, Ryabkov observed that “some sprouts of common sense are appearing in the dialogue with the US, which have been sorely lacking in recent months and years.”

However, the use of the term “détente” would be wholly unwarranted at this point, the deputy minister stressed.

Speaking of Russia’s decision to lift a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of intermediate-range missiles, Ryabkov argued that Moscow had no other choice in light of what the “Americans and their allies, especially the European warmongers, are undertaking.”

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The Russian Foreign Ministry cited the “disappearance of conditions for maintaining the unilateral moratorium” in explaining the decision earlier this month. The statement said the West was creating a “direct threat” to Russian security, with the recent Talisman Sabre exercise in Australia being an example. The drills in mid-July featured the US Typhon mobile ground-based launcher, designed for firing Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range up to 1,800km, and SM-6 multipurpose missiles, with a range up to 500km.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated around the same time that Moscow reserves the right to deploy its own intermediate-range missiles “when deemed necessary,” and would not announce it.

Speaking last month, Trump hinted that he would like to resume negotiations with Russia to maintain the existing restrictions on nuclear weapons.