Special to WorldTribune.com

Bill Gertz, Washington Free Beacon

Russia is refusing to discuss U.S. charges that Moscow violated the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty by building a cruise missile banned under the accord, according to U.S. officials.

Additionally, Moscow in talks held last week accused the United States of INF treaty violations for using target missiles in missile defense tests and deploying armed drones—even though neither weapon is covered by the treaty, according to officials familiar with the talks.

The accusations were traded during five hours of talks in Moscow Sept. 11 led by Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

State Department spokesmen declined to provide details of the failed discussions. However, the department acknowledged in a brief statement that the talks did not resolve U.S. concerns about the treaty breach.

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  LIFE, Moscow balks at discussing INF treaty violations with U.S., Sergei Ryabkov, Vladimir Putin, WorldTribune.com