UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a new arms control agreement following the United States testing a ballistic missile previously banned by the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq told Sputnik.
“The Secretary-General is aware of the reports,” Haq said on Thursday. “With the ending of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, the Secretary-General emphasizes the need for all States to avoid destabilizing developments and to urgently seek agreement on a new common path for international arms control.”
Earlier in the day, a public affairs officer at Vandenberg Air Force Base told Sputnik that the United States has tested a land-based intermediate-range missile from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in the state of California.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in a statement praised the test and noted that it took less than nine months to develop the projectile from concept to launch.
The INF Treaty, signed by the United States and the then Soviet Union in 1987, was terminated on August 2 at the United States’ initiative after it formally suspended its INF obligations six months earlier.
The United States and Russia have repeatedly accused each other of violating the agreement, which banned any ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,417 miles).
(agencies)
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