Russia accused Washington on Friday of dividing its allies after the announcement of a possible American withdrawal from the " Open Skies " treaty which makes it possible to verify the military movements and the arms limitation measures of the signatory countries.
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" The United States is sowing discord and uncertainty among its own allies in making such decisions. They ignore the opinion of many other members of NATO and other countries that are part of this treaty, "said the Russian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sergei Riabkov. " The conditions that the United States imposed on us are absolutely unacceptable, categorically unacceptable, they have no meaning, no basis, " he added, during a video conference. " We are ready to continue the dialogue and to seek an agreement, but not to accept to carry out what has been formulated by Washington, " continued Sergei Riabkov.
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President Donald Trump denounced this treaty signed by 34 countries on Thursday and entered into force in 2002, accusing Moscow of violating it. Ambassadors of NATO member countries met urgently on Friday to try to save the treaty and ask Washington to reconsider its position. The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday accused the United States of " camouflaging its destructive actions " and " fleeing the discussion ", citing an " ultimatum on the basis of which no dialogue can take place ".
Earlier in the day, another representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Grushko, announced that Russia would continue to respect the terms of the treaty, even after an American withdrawal. Russian officials have also said they are ready to discuss "the technical issues that the United States presents today as alleged violations by Russia ."
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The United States had previously accused Russia of violating the INF treaty on medium-range land missiles before denouncing it in 2019. The future of the Russian-American New Start treaty, concluded in 2010, which expires in early 2021 is also in question. It is the last nuclear agreement still in force between the two powers.