Russia dismissed Washington's accusations that it has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Treaty as "unfounded," and said it had its own complaints against the United States over the treaty. "We have amassed many complaints to the U.S. in the context of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Treaty. This includes... production of armed drones by the Americans, which...fall into the category of ground-based cruise missiles as defined by the Treaty," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ministry was reacting to Washington's allegations that Moscow had violated the 1988 accord.The exchange of the accusations took place amid the deepest East-West rift since the end of the Cold War over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis and the EU and United States economic sanctions against Moscow. The treaty was designed to eliminate ground-launched cruise missiles with ranges of 310 to 3,400 miles. The United States has called for senior-level talks, while Russia's Foreign Ministry said that the problems over the treaty should be resolved "in working regime."
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