Lavrov criticizes US silence on Russia’s missile moratorium suggestion
(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the United States has not responded to Moscow’s proposal for mutual limits on deploying intermediate-range missiles, following the breakdown of the INF Treaty.
Speaking at the Future Forum 2050 on Monday, Lavrov stated that Washington continues to ignore Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to establish reciprocal moratoriums on missile deployment after the 2019 collapse of the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. “It’s clear they won’t respond to our call for parallel moratoriums,” Lavrov said.
The INF Treaty, signed in 1987 between the US and the Soviet Union, banned land-based ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. The US exited the treaty in 2019, accusing Russia of non-compliance—claims Moscow denies. In response, Russia vowed not to deploy such missiles unless the US did so first.
However, the US has since announced plans to deploy the SM-6 missile, Tomahawk cruise missiles, and a hypersonic weapon (still in development) on a rotational basis in Germany beginning in 2026—systems that would have violated the now-defunct treaty if land-based.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that Russia will not feel bound by any restrictions if it ends its self-imposed moratorium, citing NATO’s “aggressive” expansion. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov also suggested that Moscow may soon abandon its restraint, as its moratorium has not been reciprocated or appreciated by Washington.
Ryabkov added that the US appears committed to forward-deploying intermediate- and short-range ground-based missiles globally, and that its military actions suggest such deployments will only increase.
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