MOSCOW. Jan 18 (Interfax) - By putting forth demands regarding compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the United States was only creating a pretext for its own withdrawal from this treaty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"I would like to remind you once again that they [the U.S.] said during the talks in October that [U.S. President Donald] Trump's announcement that the U.S. would quit the INF Treaty was a final and irreversible decision and that it should not be viewed as an invitation to dialogue," he said at a press conference on Friday.