MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. The statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said Washington was suspending its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and would withdraw from it in six months was no sensation. He only conveyed a decision that had been made a long time ago, Head of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev said on Friday.

"Unfortunately, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement didn't stir up any sensation. The US confirmed its intention to put the final nail into the coffin of another important arms control pillar," Kosachev told reporters. "We can only say that Pompeo voiced that decision, which had been made a long time ago, before putting forward an ultimatum to Russia, so no action whatsoever by Moscow could have influenced that."

He recalled that Washington’s ultimatum to Russia demanding a return to compliance with the obligations under the treaty within 60 days was expiring on Saturday. The US failed to furnish any evidence of Russia’s failure to comply with the deal. Kosachev noted that the response by Washington’s NATO partners and the alliance’s top officials had shown that "they need no serious arguments to confirm their loyalty."

"The mere fact that the US initially chose the language of ultimatums (knowing perfectly well that Russia would not tolerate such an approach in any dialogue with it, especially in the security sphere) confirms that no one was actually going to come to terms," he emphasized.

He also pointed to the game plan that Western countries employ of blaming others on key issues to justify themselves. "If you make statements on acts of aggression committed by someone, be it chemical attacks, violations of human rights or treaties by someone, it is assumed that you yourself are above suspicion, like Caesar’s wife," the legislator pointed out.

Attempts to salvage INF

Kosachev recalled that Russia had initially proposed a solution to the problem that would lead to preserving the INF accord. At the NATO-Russia Council meeting on October 31, 2018, Moscow initiated an exchange of views on the critical situation around the arms control deal.