Russia said the United States is boosting its nuclear weapons, decreasing its application threshold in a military conflict.
“Washington is not just modernizing its nuclear forces, but is striving to give them new capabilities, which greatly expands the likelihood of their use”, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated on Friday.
The diplomat added that it looks like the US is “considering a nuclear conflict as a real political option”, increasing its potential, and using fake threats like possible aggression from Russia or China as a pretext. She also urged Washington to pursue arms control to decrease tensions and boost global stability.
The United States earlier withdrew from the 1987 INF Treaty that banned any ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 310 to 3,417 miles.
Washington has repeatedly accused Russia of violating the treaty, for a long time refusing to name the exact reasons for its concerns.
American officials also claimed they would like to strike a new deal that would include China, but Beijing didn’t support the proposition.
The situation also remains uneasy as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which imposes limits on the number of both Russian and American nuclear missile launchers, bombers, and warheads, expires in April 2021 – and the sides have not agreed on an extension despite numerous warnings from Moscow.
Source: Sputnik
