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Russia has expressed concerns about plans by the US and the UK to deploy ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles.
In a statement on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Pentagon officials in the US have recently made statements about the practical steps required to deploy in various regions of the world ground-based intermediate and shorter-range missiles, previously banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Xinhua news agency reported. The British military has joined in on the "openly hostile, destabilizing" statements and actions in this regard, it noted. The plans will narrow the space for a diplomatic solution to post-INF Treaty problems, it warned. Russia will continue to carefully monitor the actions of the US and its allies to create a ground-based INF arsenal in Europe and Asia-Pacific, said the statement. "We are by no means shutting the door to dialogue, but in the current conditions we do not rule out that Russia will be forced" to respond to the growing missile threats, the statement read. In August 2019, Russia and the US formally withdrew from the INF Treaty after accusing each other of violating the landmark arms control deal signed in Washington in December 1987. --IANS ksk/ ( 211 Words) 2021-04-06-11:02:33 (IANS)
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