Russia acknowledges new missile but says it does not breach treaty

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament Robert Wood attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

GENEVA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia has recognised the existence of a cruise missile system that has prompted Washington to say it will quit the 1987 INF disarmament treaty, but has denied that it violates the pact, U.S. officials and NATO diplomats said on Monday.

Two weeks before the planned U.S. withdrawal from the treaty, which keeps nuclear-capable missiles out of Europe, Washington's disarmament ambassador in Geneva said there was still time for Russia to destroy the system.