"I hereby delegate to the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Director of National Intelligence, the functions and authorities vested in the President by section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act [NDAA] for Fiscal Year 2018," a president's memorandum released on Tuesday reads.
Section 1245 stipulates that a review of the RS-26 ballistic missile should be conducted within 90 days of enacting the NDAA, which was done on December 12, and issue a report.
"The report shall include … a determination whether the RS-26 ballistic missile is covered under the New START Treaty or would be a violation of the INF Treaty because Russia has flight-tested such missile to ranges covered by the INF Treaty in more than one warhead configuration," the NDAA said.
If the president determines that the missile is "covered under the New START Treaty and that Russia has not taken the steps described under subsection (b)(2)," the United States government will consider for purposes of all policies and decisions that the RS-26 ballistic missile is a violation of the INF Treaty, the NDAA added.
US Accusations
Previously, Washington has repeatedly accused Moscow of violating the INF Treaty, what was recently reflected in the new US Intelligence Report, claiming that Russia had developed a ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM).
READ MORE: New US Intelligence Report Shed Light on Possible Attacks on US, Allies
Prior to that, on February 2, the Pentagon released the new US nuclear doctrine, which defined Russia, North Korea, Iran and China as potential threats to the country's national security.
In response, Moscow indicated its disappointment with the US nuclear posture.
READ MORE: Moscow Disappointed by Content of New US Nuclear Doctrine
