Moscow deployed missile in violation of treaty: US official

RUSSIA HAS deployed a cruise missile in violation of a Cold War-era arms control treaty, a Trump administration official says, a development that complicates the outlook for Usrussia relations amid turmoil on the White House national security team.

The Obama administration three years ago accused the Russians of violating the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty by developing and testing the prohibited cruise missile, and officials had anticipated that Moscow eventually would deploy it. Russia denies that it has violated the INF treaty.

US intelligence agencies have assessed that the missile became operational late last year, said an administration official.

The deployment may not immediately change the security picture in Europe, but the alleged treaty violation may arise when Defence Secretary Jim Mattis attends his first NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. It also has stirred concern on Capitol Hill, where Republican Sen. John Mccain, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, called on the Trump administration to ensure US nuclear forces in Europe are ready.

“Russia’s deployment of nuclear-tipped ground-launched cruise missiles in violation of the INF treaty is a significant military threat to US forces in Europe and our NATO allies,’’ Mccain said in a statement Tuesday. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin was “testing’’ Trump.

Trump’s White House is in a difficult moment, with no national security adviser following the forced resignation Monday night of Michael Flynn. He is accused of misleading Vice President Mike Pence about contacts with a Russian diplomat while President Barack Obama was still in office. AP