RT reported that on July 4, President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian defense industry was ready to start producing medium and short-range missiles that were banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty during the Cold War.
The INF treaty bans these systems, but the US withdrew from the treaty in 2019. Moscow's choice is to maintain the ban as long as Washington complies.
As I said, regarding the US withdrawal from this treaty and the announcement that they are starting production, we also believe that we have the right to start research, development and production in the future, the Russian President said on July 4 at a press conference after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
"We are conducting research and development and are ready to start production. In principle, we have issued relevant guidelines for our defense industry, Putin added.
Last week, President Putin also mentioned at a National Security Council meeting in Moscow the possibility that Russia could continue to produce previously banned missile systems, citing the US's "hostile actions".
We now know that the US not only produces these missile systems but also takes them to Europe and Denmark for use in exercises, Putin explained at the time.
The Kremlin said that Washington's moves leave Moscow with no choice but to restore medium and short-range missile programs, adding that they will be deployed "based on the actual situation, if necessary".
The 1987 INF Treaty prohibits both the US and the Soviet Union from producing and deploying ballistic missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, and their corresponding launchers with a range of 500 to 5,500 km. The treaty stipulates that all launches and missiles of this type, including missiles on both European and Asian territory of the Soviet Union, must be withdrawn within 3 years.
The treaty does not affect missile systems in the air or at sea with the same range. This helps ease tensions over the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe.
Russia, as a successor to the Soviet Union, continues to comply with the treaty, raising concerns that US facilities in Eastern Europe - designed for missile defense - have violated the treaty because their launchers are also capable of deploying surface-to-surface missiles.
In 2019, the US withdrew from the INF Treaty, accusing Russia of violating the treaty without providing evidence to prove the claim.
