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02Feb19

China urges Russia, US to mediate differences on INF Treaty, says foreign ministry

Beijing opposes the US’ unilateral withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) and urges Moscow and Washington to mediate differences. According to the statement made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang released on Saturday, Beijing regrets Washington’s decision to suspend its liabilities under the Treaty.

"China opposes the United States’ move to denounce the treaty and urges the US and Russia to properly settle the differences through an efficient dialogue," the statement runs. "The US’ unilateral withdrawal from the Treaty may have a whole number of implications, China will closely monitor the developments," the diplomat noted.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that Washington would suspend its liabilities under the INF Treaty starting February 2 and would quit it within six months if Russia fails to comply with its demands. The US accused Russia of violating the treaty for the first time in July 2014. Since then, Washington has been repeating its claims on many occasions, while Moscow has been rejecting them and advancing counter-claims concerning the implementation of the treaty by the US side.

The INF Treaty was signed between the former Soviet Union and the United States on December 8, 1987 and entered into force on June 1, 1988. It covered deployed and non-deployed ground-based short-range missiles (from 500 to 1,000 kilometers) and intermediate-range missiles (from 1,000 to 5,500 kilometers).

[Source: Itar Tass, Beijing, 02Feb19]
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