Russia, US may develop INF missiles: Analyst
Credit 10
An adviser to the commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Force, former chief of the Strategic Missile Force General Staff, Colonel-General Viktor Yesin, told Itar-Tass on Thursday that in the wake of reports Russia and the United States might raise the theme of the INF treaty's future, once they have signed a new strategic arms reduction treaty (START).
On February 17 a reliable military-diplomatic source in Moscow told Itar-Tass, "Russia and the United States plan to get back to the question of preserving or terminating the treaty to eliminate medium and shorter range missiles after they have signed a new strategic arms reduction treaty."
In his opinion, "preserving this bilateral treaty that outlawed medium- and shorter-range missiles will make no sense at a time when many countries are developing and building up this type of armaments," the source said. "If the other countries refuse to join in, the Russian-American Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) treaty may be terminated."
General Yesin believes that since both Russia and the United States can create new inter-continental ballistic missiles, they surely have the potential to develop and manufacture shorter-range missiles.
