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Disinfo: Russia’s 9M729 missile does not violate the INF Treaty

Summary

Russia’s 9M729 missile does not violate the INF Treaty. This missile was not developed nor tested with a range superior to that established by the INF Treaty. The US has never produced any proof that the missile violated the INF Treaty.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that Russia’s 9M729 missile does not violate the INF Treaty, that the US is fully responsible for the demise of the Treaty, and that Russia is interested in dialogue about the Treaty but the US is not. The INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) Treaty, signed in 1987, prohibits the US and Russia from possessing, producing or test-flying ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5500 kilometers. In July 2014 the then-US President Obama officially accused Russia of testing a missile in violation of the INF Treaty. In March 2017, a senior US military official accused Russia of deploying the new missile, which posed a threat to NATO and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility. The US has gathered detailed information on Russia’s flight-testing of the 9M792 missile to distances well over 500 kilometers. The US has provided Moscow with substantial information about the 9M729’s violations, including geographic coordinates and dates for the tests, but Russia continues to deny any wrongdoing. The US has spent almost six years in dialogues with Russia to try to resolve Russia’s non-compliance, raising the issue in numerous meetings, including at the highest levels as well as in meetings of technical experts. However, Russia consistently refused to address US and NATO concerns. See here for more background information.   .

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publication/media

Sputnik Italia (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 157
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06/07/2019
  • Language/target audience: Italian
  • Country: Russia, US
  • Keywords: INF Treaty, Nuclear issues, Missile defence system

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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Belarus is under ‘colour revolution’ pressure from the West and global influence groups

The irresponsible policies of Western governments and oligarchs have resulted in a planetary crisis. Only the preservation of Belarusian traditions and values can overcome this. Many global political and economic processes are managed by trans-border ‘influence groups’ who only care about their own benefits and disregard any national interests. For instance, the Ukrainians made one-sided concessions to the EU and the US without getting a say in the issues of mutual interest. Even the EU’s visa free regime for Ukrainians is just a fig leaf to cover the geopolitical intentions of Western governments and oligarchs. Belarus-related policies of Western politicians are also often dictated by global influence groups. This is why Belarusians have to be ideologically and technologically prepared to withstand this pressure and to disrupt their scenarios, be they orange, velvet, or brown.

July 08, 2019
Disproof

This message contains common pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Shadow Government narratives, the Western attempts to instigate colour revolutions in EU neighbourhood countries, including Belarus, and about Ukraine's lost sovereignty. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that global neo-colonialists stage colour revolutions and conquer indigenous national elites, the West attempted to stage at least 6 colour revolutions in Belarus, and that the EU may cancel the visa-free regime due to the measles epidemic in Ukraine.

British Round Table Movement has infiltrated America

While there has been a long-standing narrative promoted for over 70 years that the British Empire disappeared after World War II having been replaced by the “American Empire”, it is the furthest thing from the truth. Henry Kissinger’s takeover of the State Department ushered in a new era of British occupation of American foreign policy, whereby the republic increasingly became the “Dumb Giant” acting as “American Brawn for the British brains” using Churchill’s words. The policy of Anglo-Saxon imperialism had been promoted subversively by British-run think tanks known as the Round Table Movement and Fabian Society, and the seeds had already been laid for the anti-Russian cold war by those British-run American fascists. While a nihilistic generation of youth were tuning in on LSD, and an old guard of patriots surrounding Wallace and Kennedy had fallen to the “red scare” witch hunt, geopolitical theory was fed like a sweet poison down the throat of a sleeping nation, replacing a policy of peace and “win-win cooperation” with an imperial clone masquerading as a republic.

July 08, 2019
Disproof

Conspiracy theory, presented without any evidence. A pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative linking Britain and Russophobia. This message is consistent with a recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative that the “deep state” and “shadow government” control the work of democratic institutions in the United States. Here are some other examples of this narrative: “Deep state” fighting with Trump (here and here); “Deep state” shaping the US foreign policy (here).

No reputable political scientists and researchers confirm the existence of a “deep state” in the United States.

EU countries’ economies are on the brink of default, with over 20% unemployment rates

Some EU countries teeter on the brink of default and the levels of unemployment in some EU member states exceed 20%. At the same time Belarus, a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, is famous for its extremely low level of unemployment, clean and accurate towns and villages, the absence of oligarchs, lawlessness, arbitrariness of officials, and free from many other shortcomings of transit economies.

July 08, 2019
Disproof

This message contains ungrounded statements concerning the economic performance of the EU member states. It is consistent with a common pro-Kremlin narrative about the EU's imminent collapse. In May 2019, EU-28 unemployment stood at 6.3 %, the lowest level since the start of the EU monthly unemployment series in January 2000. The highest unemployment rates among EU countries in May 2019 were registered in Greece (18,1%) and Spain (13,6%). In the rest of the EU member states it was less than 10%, the lowest in the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Netherlands with 2,2%, 3,1% and 3,3%, respectively, according to Eurostat statistics. The authors is deliberately mixing up youth unemployment figures with overall rates. The registered unemployment rate in Belarus on 1 June 2019 was as low as 0,3%, as reported by the Belarusian Telegraph Agency. However, Belarus' official unemployment rate is a result of calculations rather than economic achievements. According to Belarusian legislation, the unemployed are the working age residents who are registered with the state employment agency. As the unemployment benefits in Belarus are very meagre, the unemployed are supposed to carry out public works as directed by the employment agency and as enterprises normally do not notify state agencies about better-paid vacancies, most of the unemployed choose not to undergo the registration procedure and therefore are not accounted in official statistics. Occasional surveys conducted in accordance with the International Labour Organisation’s methodology suggest that real unemployment rates in Belarus exceed 5%. The claim that economies of a number of EU countries face default is ungrounded. At present, no EU country has a credit rating low enough to justify that claim. In fact, the ranking shows that Belarus' credit rating is lower than any of the EU's member states and is much lower than the EU's. The EU as a whole enjoys a very high credit rating. It is rated AAA/Aaa/AAA/AAA (outlook stable) by Fitch, Moody’s, DBRS and Scope and AA (outlook stable) by Standard & Poor’s. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the current socio-economic situation of Poland is worse than in the communist times and that the EU countries face 'total unemployment'.