Mutual Accusations Between the US and Russia Regarding Violation of a Missile Treaty

While an American official claims that Russia has violated one of the arms control treaties by operationalizing a cruise missile, Moscow has labeled this accusation as "incorrect" and, in turn, accuses the US of violating the same treaty. The Associated Press reported on Wednesday, February 15, that an unnamed official from the Donald Trump administration accused Russia of violating the "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty" by operationalizing a cruise missile. This treaty was signed in 1987, towards the end of the Cold War, and the Barack Obama administration had accused Russia three years ago of violating the treaty by producing and testing a type of cruise missile. According to the Associated Press, a Trump administration official stated that US intelligence agencies estimate this missile became operational last year. The New York Times, which was the first source to report the operationalization of this missile, states that the Russians have deployed two missile battalions of the banned cruise missile type. According to this report, one of these battalions is stationed at the "Kapustin Yar" missile test site, and another battalion was transferred from this location to another base in Russia in December. The Associated Press noted that these accusations are likely to be raised by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. Meanwhile, influential Republican Senator John McCain stated in a statement on Tuesday that the operationalization of ground-to-air cruise missiles with nuclear warheads poses a "significant military threat to US forces in Europe and NATO allies." McCain also added that he believes Vladimir Putin is trying to "test Trump" with this action. In response to these reports, Leonid Slutsky, head of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Parliament, stated on Wednesday that "the US accusations that Russia has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty are incorrect." According to the Russian news agency Interfax, Mr. Slutsky told reporters that "Washington is trying to shift the blame onto others with these accusations. In fact, it is Washington that has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty by operationalizing missile defense in Eastern European countries." This Russian official concluded that if the US has claims regarding violations of this treaty, it should present them according to the procedures outlined in the treaty, and Russia would be ready to examine these claims. These mutual accusations come at a time when the White House is currently facing challenges regarding questions related to contacts between some American officials and Russia. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the US military accused Russian fighter jets of flying in a "unprofessional and unsafe" manner around a US destroyer in the Black Sea; Russia has also denied this report.