Duma foreign affairs committee to support INF suspension bill
MOSCOW. May 30 (Interfax) - The Russian Duma's foreign affairs committee will unanimously support the passage of a bill suspending the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States, the committee's chairman Leonid Slutsky said.
"The president has introduced a bill into the State Duma suspending Russia's participation in the INF Treaty and asked that it be considered as a first priority. The foreign affairs committee supports the bill. All our deputies unanimously favor its passage," Slutsky told journalists on Thursday.
The bill concerns "the absolutely destructive policy of the U.S., which unilaterally pulled out of the treaty. This carries the threat of non-extension of the New START [Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty] in 2021 and the collapse of the entire global strategic stability system," he said.
"We propose that the INF suspension issue be put forward for the next plenary session on June 18 for co-examination together with the defense committee and the security and anti-corruption committee," Slutsky said.