RT reported that on December 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that the successful test of the Oreshnik hypersonic missile last month was seen as Moscow's response to Washington's deployment of medium-range missiles in Europe.
According to Mr. Lavrov, although Russia has continued to comply with important limits in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty since the end of the Cold War, the US unilaterally withdrew from the INF in 2019.
The foreign minister said that the moratorium that Russia imposed on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles would no longer be feasible in the current context, forcing Moscow to abandon all restrictions.
The Russian Foreign Minister affirmed that US policy has weakened many foundations of strategic stability, causing some areas to even collapse.
In an interview on December 29, Mr. Lavrov also accused the US of ignoring all of Russia's requests not to deploy these types of missiles abroad.
This prompted Russia to respond by testing the new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic missile system, Lavrov said, while declaring Russia's strong capability and determination to take retaliatory measures.
In the face of a series of recent US moves that Mr. Lavrov said were "very hostile to Russia," the Foreign Minister affirmed that Moscow has no intention of re-entering arms control dialogue with Washington in the near future.
Russia will still adhere to certain limits in previous agreements, but its approach will be reviewed based on increased US moves that Moscow sees as a threat.
In early December, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a similar statement that the development of the Oreshnik was in response to the US decision to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Western Europe.
On December 26, Mr. Putin said that although Russia does not have many Oreshnik missile systems, this does not affect the timing of future deployment. The top Russian leader confirmed that some units will be deployed to ally Belarus.
According to President Vladimir Putin, the Oreshnik hypersonic missile is capable of traveling 10 times faster than the speed of sound and cannot be intercepted by any current air defense system.
