Kremlin says U.S. ultimatum on nuclear treaty is a tactical ploy

Reuters
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the United States was manipulating facts in order to falsely accuse Russia of violating the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces arms control treaty and create a pretext to leave it. The United States delivered Russia a 60-day ultimatum on Tuesday to come clean about what Washington says is a violation of a 1987 nuclear arms control treaty, saying it would be forced to start a six-month process of withdrawal if nothing changed. When asked about the ultimatum, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said statements from the United States and NATO were whipping up tensions. (Reporting by Tom Balmforth/Polina Devitt; Editing by Andrew Osborn)