Russia says it will not let US see missile at heart of nuclear dispute

The United States issued Russia a 60-day ultimatum earlier this month to come clean about an alleged missile violation

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This undated file photo provided Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017, by Russian Defence Ministry official web site shows a Russian Iskander-K missile launched during a military exercise at a training ground at the Luzhsky Range, near St. Petersburg, Russia. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP

Published: 9:17pm, 19 Dec 2018Updated: 9:24pm, 19 Dec 2018

Russia said on Wednesday it would not let the United States inspect a new nuclear-capable cruise missile at the heart of a dispute between Washington and Moscow that risks unravelling a landmark arms control treaty.

Washington has threatened to pull out of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), alleging that the new Russian missile, the Novator 9M729 (called SSC-8 by Nato), violates the pact, which bans either side from stationing short and intermediate-range, land-based missiles in Europe.

Russia says the missile’s range puts it outside the treaty altogether and is not as long as Washington alleges, meaning that it is fully compliant with the INF. It has accused the United States of inventing a false pretext to exit a treaty it wants to leave anyway so as to develop new missiles.

The United States issued Russia a 60-day ultimatum earlier this month to come clean about the alleged missile violation and return to “full and verifiable compliance.” That means Moscow is under pressure to scrap the new missile and its launchers.

Russian army S-400 Triumph medium-range and long-range surface-to-air missile systems are seen during the Victory Day military parade in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Photo: EPA-EFE

However, Russia said on Wednesday it had no intention of letting US inspectors look at the missile, which it said had not been tested at the longer range that Washington alleges.