MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax) - Proposals from the United States on mutual verification measures applied to Aegis Ashore systems in Romania and Poland and some Russian facilities could be worked on, Russia's response on security guarantees passed to the U.S. on Thursday said.
"We noted that the U.S. is taking Russia's approach which provides for the mutual settlement of each other's concerns in the context of the earlier existing INF Treaty [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty] as a base. The variant of elaborating on our idea of mutual verification measures regarding Aegis Ashore systems in Romania and Poland, as well as some facilities in the European part of Russia, could be worked on," the document, as translated by Interfax, said.
As noted in the Russian responses, and in Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement of October 26, 2020 and subsequently repeatedly referred to the by U.S. side, "potential transparency measures regarding Russian facilities to be agreed upon could include monitoring for the absence of a Russian 9M729 missile there."
"We remind you that this step is a demonstration of goodwill, given that the characteristics of the 9M729 missile do not contravene in any way the requirements of the former INF Treaty and that the U.S. has never presented any evidence that would substantiate accusations against Russia," the document reads.