US may sanction Russian firms that built banned missile

The US says it considering new sanctions against Russian companies to make sure the country 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.

But 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 is likely to increase tensions between Moscow and Washington, already beset by challenges reaching back to Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea from Ukraine.

This article was published in the New York Post.