US may sanction Russian firms that built banned missile

THE Trump administration is considering new sanctions to make sure Russia abides by the terms of a 1987 nuclear-arms treaty that limits intermediate-range missiles.

Russian companies that helped develop a new version of a banned cruise missile will bear the brunt of the sanctions being weighed by the Commerce Department, Politico reported.

The US says Russia’s newly deployed Novator 9M729 missile violates the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, reports the New York Post.

If the Russians are breaking the treaty, the US might respond by developing a new intermediate-range cruise missile of its own, the State Department said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denies his country is violating the agreement, which requires the US and Russia to give up ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles.

The US allegations are “absolutely unfounded,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Saturday.

“They are not supported by the technical characteristics of the launch installation, which allegedly does not comply with the treaty, or by flight telemetry data. Nothing.”

The issue adds further tension to relations between Moscow and Washington, already beset by challenges reaching back to Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.

The US has already sanctioned Russia for the Crimea seizure and for alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election, an accusation the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.

“It’s time for American politicians and diplomats to understand that economic and military pressure on Russia will not work,” Ryabkov said.

This article was first published in the New York Post.