US says Russia violated nuclear treaty

The US government has accused Russia of violating an arms control treaty by testing a new ground-launched cruise missile, calling the breach “a very serious matter.”

An administration official on Monday said US President Barack Obama has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, claiming that Moscow was not abiding by the terms of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

The Cold War treaty, signed in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, was designed to eliminate nuclear and conventional ground-launched cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km (310 to 3,400 miles).

“This is a very serious matter which we have attempted to address with Russia for some time now,” an unnamed administration official said in a statement.

“We encourage Russia to return to compliance with its obligations under the treaty and to eliminate any prohibited items in a verifiable manner,” the official said.

Two US officials said the US is prepared to hold high-level discussions on the issue immediately and want assurances that Russia will comply with the treaty.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive issue.

The Obama administration has expressed its concern over possible violations before, but this is the first time that the administration has formally accused Russia of violating the treaty, another sign of deteriorating relations between the two countries.

The new confrontation comes at a highly strained time between the US and Russia over the crisis in Ukraine and Moscow’s grant of asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.

The United States and the European Union plan to ramp up sanctions against Russia this week in the face of US allegations that Moscow has continued to assist pro-Russian forces in Ukraine.