OREANDA-NEWS Russia will respond to any violations of the Treaty on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear forces (INF) from the United States, first Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on international Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov said.

"Nothing new was heard. Americans have long been preparing public opinion for what will come out of this Treaty. We wanted to do it with our hands so that we could go out first. But it did not work," he commented on the statement of US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who promised Washington's withdrawal from the Treaty if Russia does not return to fulfilling the obligations set out in the document in 60 days.

According to Dzhabarov, Moscow sent relevant materials that Russia has never violated the terms of the Treaty. He assumes that the US really intends to withdraw Dzhabarov the Treaty. "Russia will respond adequately to any violations of the terms of this agreement," Dzhabarov stressed.

"I do not exclude that Trump's refusal to meet with our President is connected, among other things, with this statement, in addition to the already mentioned reasons — the internal political situation in the US and the situation in the Kerch Strait, which became a pretext," the Senator added.

Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on defense and security Viktor Bondarev explained the current situation around the misunderstanding, which could have been avoided if the US and Russia conducted full-fledged negotiations.

"Their result could be the adaptation of the Treaty. For example, it would be possible to limit the zone of its action to the European theater when allowing the placement of medium — range and shorter-range missiles in other regions, where there is an objective expediency for this," Bondarev told the Agency. In the event that the US withdraws from the agreement, Russia's response could be "accelerating the development and adoption of unique weapons," the Senator said.

Earlier, the US Secretary of state said that Washington will withdraw from the Treaty if within 60 days Russia does not return to the fulfillment of its obligations. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said in response that Moscow "strictly complies with the provisions of the Treaty, and the American side knows it."