The Russian Foreign Ministry has responded to a statement by the U.S. State Department accusing Russia of violating its arms treaty obligations. In response to the accusation, Russia has accused the U.S. of coercing Kiev into pressing on in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
The statement also urged Washington to completely implement a treaty on fully eradicating intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles. The statement further says that Russia has not been carrying out any "unusual military activity," according to Reuters.
"The conclusion from the report is that the State Department still prefers the propagandistic approach to thoughtful, detailed and substantive discussion of problems over implementation of arms control treaties," the ministry's report stated.
The report also accuses Washington of using "megaphone diplomacy." Russia has been accused of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) back in 1987 between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The deal was aimed at eliminating nuclear and conventional long-range missiles, reported The New York Times.
The U.S. has been vocal in criticizing Russia lately regarding its alleged involvement in the Eastern Ukraine conflict, stating that Russia has been sending weapons and manpower to back pro-Russian separatists who are fighting government forces there, according to The New York Times. A build-up of weapons near the border with Ukraine is also suspected to be Russian.
Russia, however, has been adamant in denying the accusations, according to Reuters. The ministry report further states that Washington has not been making any efforts to resolve the crisis and was instead "pushing the current Kiev authorities into continuing the fratricidal intra-state conflict."
