Washington, Moscow could settle INF problem in 2016 - U.S. Under Secretary of State
NEW YORK. Feb 4 (Interfax) - Over the coming months the United States and Russia can settle the problem of presumed violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), said Rose Gottemoeller, the U.S. Under Secretary of State.
The parties have reached progress on this issue, she told Interfax.
The U.S. continues trying to persuade Moscow that it is in its own interest to return to complying with the INF, she said. The U.S. is disappointed by the fact that Russia is not even ready to admit the very fact of the ground launch of a cruise missile that was tested within the range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, and has no desire to react in any way to the U.S. concern, the under secretary said.
Nevertheless, the U.S. is hoping for some progress over the coming months, she said.
When asked whether in that case the likelihood of sanctions being introduced against Russia would disappear, Gottemoeller said that the U.S. was still contemplating possible counter-measures of an economic and military nature in response to violation of the INF by Russia. But Washington must also look for ways to resolve this problem and is doubtless committed to finding a solution, she added.
The U.S. regularly interacts with Russia at the highest level in the one-on-one format and some meetings are also held at the expert level, she said. So the discussion is ongoing, and hopefully there is a chance to resolve this problem in 2016, she said.