The U.S. ground-based ballistic missile test on December 12 confirms the fact that the destruction of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty) occurred at the initiative of Washington. This was stated by spokesman for the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov.

“The fact that the United States has long been preparing to violate the provisions of the INF Treaty, we have stated repeatedly. This (missile test. - RT ) - only eloquently confirms that the agreement was actually broken at the initiative of the United States, ”a Kremlin spokesman said.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that Moscow was “alarmed” by the test of an American missile, previously banned by the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles.

“It worries us. Naturally, we will take this into account, ”RIA Novosti quotes the words of the Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control (DNV) of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Ermakov.

In addition, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs also considered that the United States had prepared in advance for the withdrawal from the INF Treaty.

“Since August 2 this year, when the United States announced its withdrawal from the INF Treaty, the Pentagon has already conducted two tests of ground-based missiles. The head of the Pentagon, Esper, proudly said that the United States since February this year began to prepare for these tests. Please note: the United States officially announced the withdrawal from the INF Treaty on August 2, but the Pentagon chief said that they had already begun preparing for tests in February. This once again confirms our previous estimates that the US had thought out a way out of the INF Treaty in advance, ”RIA Novosti quotes Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying.

UN Secretary General António Guterres also reacted to the maneuvers of the United States, declaring the need to “avoid destabilization” and conclude a new arms control agreement as soon as possible.

“In connection with the end of the INF Treaty, the Secretary General emphasizes the need for all states to avoid destabilization and urgently seek an agreement for a new common road to international arms control,” UN Secretary General Representative Farhan Hack told RIA Novosti.

  • US Department of Defense
  • Reuters
  • © Jason Reed JIR / CN

Recall, on August 2, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate and Shorter-Range Missiles, accusing Moscow of violating the agreement because of 9M729 missiles. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense at the beginning of this year revealed the technical characteristics of this type of weapon, confirming their full compliance with the agreement. Nevertheless, the NATO countries ignored this information.

Long made decision

Recall, the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, said that on December 12 in the United States, a missile test previously banned by the INF Treaty was tested.

“Today, the US Air Force successfully tested a ballistic non-nuclear missile,” he wrote on his Twitter page.

Today, @ usairforce @ 30thSpaceWing & @DoDCTO Strategic Capabilities Office successfully tested a prototype conventional, ground-launched ballistic missile. Congrats to the joint gov't-industry team for going from concept to launch in less than 9 months! pic.twitter.com/PiZw8xXDoY

- Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper (@EsperDoD) December 12, 2019

According to the minister, the rocket went from concept to testing in just nine months. In addition, the Pentagon revealed the details of flight tests.

“On Thursday, December 12, 2019 at 08:30 Pacific time (19:30 Moscow time - RT ), the US Air Force, together with the Strategic Opportunity Directorate, conducted a test launch of a prototype of a ground-based ballistic missile in conventional equipment from the Vandenberg air base in California,” said in a statement by the defense department.

The Pentagon also reported that the rocket detached from the launcher, flew over 500 km and fell into the ocean.

“The data and conclusions obtained from the results of this test will form the basis of the decisions of the Ministry of Defense regarding further actions to develop the potential in the field of medium-range military equipment,” the military department noted.

Recall that Washington conducted similar maneuvers in August. Then they tested the non-nuclear ground-based cruise missile on the island of San Nicholas (California). According to the US military, the ammunition managed to hit the target.

Note that these maneuvers took place literally a couple of weeks after the INF Treaty was officially terminated at the initiative of the American side.

The Kremlin then emphasized that the preparatory work for this kind of testing required considerable time, and it was impossible to organize them in such a short time.

  • Pentagon Head Mark Esper
  • Reuters
  • © Mary F. Calvert

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, back in October last year, US Presidential Assistant for National Security John Bolton, during his visit to Russia, noted that Washington’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty was already taken.

“He told us ... that Trump’s statement about the need to withdraw from this treaty is not an invitation to dialogue, this is the final decision made. Apparently, even then, maybe even earlier, they began to prepare the tests that took place, ”the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation emphasized.

In turn, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recalled that Washington had budgeted funds for the development of missiles that violate the INF Treaty almost a year before the United States withdrew from the treaty.

“In fact, eight months, almost a year before this decision was made, the budget (USA. - RT ) allocated funds for the development of such missiles, approved, allocated and aimed at starting the development of these missiles,” Shoigu said on the television channel “Russia 24 ".

"They began to develop the rocket before Trump"

As HSE professor Dmitry Yevstafyev emphasized in a conversation with RT, the tests of the American ballistic missile banned earlier by the INF Treaty "catastrophically undermine the credibility of the United States as a partner."

“In nine months you can only make a cartoon about this type of weapon. Obviously, this missile was built long before the United States withdrew from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - an order for it was issued about 2.5-3 years ago. This means that they began to develop it before Trump, respectively, the American side was preparing to exit the INF Treaty for a rather long time, ”Yevstafyev said.

At the same time, he noted that in the foreseeable future he sees no reason to conclude a new arms control agreement, especially for medium and shorter-range missiles.

“The United States made its choice - they began to restore absolute dominance in the“ first strike ”weapon, which is precisely medium- and shorter-range missiles,” the analyst explained.

According to political analyst Alexander Asafov, a test of a ballistic missile by Washington also indicates the readiness of the Americans to “go to the end” in order to maintain their primacy in the world arms trade.

“The project of this rocket was developed for a long time. At the same time, Washington is trying to pass it off as a scientific and technological breakthrough. However, this is not so - prototypes of similar missiles are already known. The US wants to sell these weapons to its NATO allies. Most likely, contracts imposed by the Americans with the same Baltic countries will soon appear. Of course, the INF Treaty made it difficult to legalize and bring to the market a new product, ”the expert said.

  • Launch of the Tomahawk cruise missile from the USS Cape St. George
  • © US Navy

According to Dmitry Yevstafyev, in recent years, the United States has been "intensively raising rates" in the military-military confrontation.

“Washington is lowering the threshold for the use of armed force, which undermines global stability. This stimulates new centers of forces to develop weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, but it also increases the attractiveness of “first strike” weapons not only for the United States, but also for other countries. Obviously, Washington has taken the path of further destabilization of the geopolitical situation, ”said Yevstafyev.

At the same time, Alexander Asafov predicts that the United States will develop weapons that violate other treaties.

“Trump easily breaks this type of agreement, because he believes that new ones should be concluded, which should only be beneficial to Washington. The White House believes that, according to the law of the former, it does not need to comply with international legal standards and previously reached agreements, ”the analyst concluded.