Kremlin rejects US charge Russia in breach of arms control treaties

The Kremlin has insisted that Russia has not breached international arms control agreements in a swift rejection of a US claim that it has done so for more than a decade.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders charged on Thursday that Russia had been developing destabilizing weapons systems over that period.

She was responding to President Vladimir Putin announcement of an array of new nuclear weapons that he said could hit almost any point in the world and evade a US-built missile shield.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Friday that Russia categorically denied it was in breach of any global arms control pacts.

The White House said US President Donald Trump discussed Putin’s statements on nuclear weapons in separate phone calls with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

The leaders “shared their serious concerns” about the statements and agreed they “detract from productive discussion of a range of issues between Russia and the West,” the White House said.

Peskov rejected an assertion that Putin’s speech would deepen Russia’s international isolation and said it did not herald the start of a new arms race.

“Russia does not plan to get dragged into any arms race,” said Peskov.

(REUTERS)