"The allegations are ungrounded, like all the other allegations made recently by Washington against Moscow", said Wednesday the Russian Foreign Ministry, quoted by Itar-Tass.
"We have many grievances against the United States related to this Treaty. These concern the missile whose technical characteristics are similar to those of short-range missiles and long-range in relation to the manufacture of the U.S. unmanned military aircraft clearly entering, according to the Treaty, in the category of cruise missiles, "the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
MK 41 systems with Vertical Launch (equivalent to Aegis technologies) were in the spotlight in recent years, given that the United States plans to install them in Poland and Romania in the antiballistic system, explains the Russian Foreign Ministry. "These systems can launch medium-range cruise missiles and land-based version can be considered a direct violation of the INF Treaty," Moscow stressed.
U.S. officials urged Russia Tuesday to destroy weapons prohibited by the agreements ratified by Moscow, denouncing the violation by the Russian party of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty dating from 1987. "We call on Russia to respect its obligations under the treaty, to remove banned weapons and demonstrate this, "said Jennifer Psaki, spokesman for the U.S. State Department. "It is a very serious problem" and was raised in the past between Washington and Moscow, added Psaki.
Intermediate Nuclear Forces Agreement signed by the U.S. and the USSR in 1987, entered into force on June 1, 1988. The treaty obliges both sides to destroy all ballistic missiles and cruise with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers
Russia is accused of having tested a missile with range of about 1,000 kilometers, but modified, it can reach a distance of 2,000-3,000 kilometers.