Russia moving to protect itself from U.S. INF Treaty pullout - Ryabkov
MOSCOW. Feb 1 (Interfax) - Russia is taking measures to protect itself in light of the United States' plans to pull out of the INF Treaty, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Rossiya 24 (VGTRK) television.
"What the Russian president said in his address to the Federal Assembly is more than a convincing signal that we are already thinking about our security, the forces and means of which are already being developed and are at an advanced stage of preparations for being put on combat duty. They guarantee our security in any situation, regardless of what the United States may start doing in this sphere in the foreseeable future," Ryabkov said.
Putin repeatedly said that the development of this hardware was a response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, he said.
"There are hypersonic warheads, different types of air and underwater autonomous systems, the new heavy missile, which is being developed. Successful test-launches of the Avangard and Kinzhal systems were recently conducted. All this and much more makes up the set of forces and means that reliably neutralize any potential threat on the part of the U.S. and any other direction wherever they come from," Ryabkov said.