US Response, President Putin Says Russia Is Ready To Start Production Of Short And Medium Distances

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Source: Valentina Pevtcova/Roscongress via Kremlin.ru)

JAKRTA - Russia is ready to start producing short and medium-range missiles in response to the United States' actions, President Vladimir said, after attending a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan Thursday.

"I said, in connection with the withdrawal of the United States from the agreement (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty - INF) and their announcement of starting production, we also consider we have the right to start research, development and production in the future. We are conducting such research and development, we are ready to start production," he said, quoted from TASS July 5.

"We have given this industry a relevant task as a principle," he continued.

President Putin added that Moscow could provide a mirror-like response if US short- and medium-range missiles were stationed in any region in the world, Putin said.

"Everything remains as we said," he said.

Citing Xinhua, the United States and the Soviet Union signed an INF agreement in 1987, which banned ownership, development and test of missiles launched from land with a range of 500-5,500 km. In 2019, the United States officially announced its withdrawal from the INF agreement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Russian Security Council on June 28, following Washington's withdrawal from the INF Agreement in 2019, Moscow had announced a moratorium on the deployment of the missile as long as the US refrained from spreading it to any region in the world.

However, according to President Putin, news has now emerged, the US has not only produced the missile but has also brought it to Europe and the Philippines on several occasions.

The Kremlin leadership noted that Russia appears to need to launch the production of such weapons and, if necessary, make decisions about its deployment.

Earlier, the United States military announced plans to place medium-range missiles into Asia to stem China.