Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting with permanent members of the country’s Security Council to discuss the situation around the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in light of Washington’s recent test of a missile that has been previously banned under the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, noting that an important statement by Putin would be released soon.
Washington tested a conventional ground-launched cruise missile on August 18 that flew more than 500 kilometers (310 miles), a range banned under the collapsed INF Treaty.
“He [Putin] has held an operational briefing with permanent members of the Security Council … The meeting mostly focused on the INF in light of the United States’ recent test of a ground-launched medium-range missile,” Peskov told reporters, noting that Putin has made an important statement at the meeting, which will be soon released.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the country’s lower house Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Intelligence Service Director Sergey Naryshkin took part in the meeting, Peskov said.
(UNI)
