US Officially Withdraws from INF Treaty
IsraelDefense
| 04/08/2019
Trump and Putin (Photo: AP)
The US has formally withdrawn from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia.
The accord was signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in December 1987. The agreement prohibited Washington and Moscow from fielding ground-launched cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.
“Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Friday. Dating back to at least the mid-2000s, Russia developed, produced, flight tested, and has now fielded multiple battalions of its noncompliant missile… With the full support of our NATO Allies, the United States has determined Russia to be in material breach of the treaty, and has subsequently suspended our obligations under the treaty.
“The United States will not remain party to a treaty that is deliberately violated by Russia,” Pompeo said. “The United States remains committed to effective arms control that advances US, allied, and partner security; is verifiable and enforceable; and includes partners that comply responsibly with their obligations.
“President Trump has charged this Administration with beginning a new chapter by seeking a new era of arms control that moves beyond the bilateral treaties of the past. Going forward, the United States calls upon Russia and China to join us in this opportunity to deliver real security results to our nations and the entire world,” he concluded.
Trump and Putin (Photo: AP)
The US has formally withdrawn from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia.
The accord was signed by President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in December 1987. The agreement prohibited Washington and Moscow from fielding ground-launched cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.
“Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Friday. Dating back to at least the mid-2000s, Russia developed, produced, flight tested, and has now fielded multiple battalions of its noncompliant missile… With the full support of our NATO Allies, the United States has determined Russia to be in material breach of the treaty, and has subsequently suspended our obligations under the treaty.
“The United States will not remain party to a treaty that is deliberately violated by Russia,” Pompeo said. “The United States remains committed to effective arms control that advances US, allied, and partner security; is verifiable and enforceable; and includes partners that comply responsibly with their obligations.
“President Trump has charged this Administration with beginning a new chapter by seeking a new era of arms control that moves beyond the bilateral treaties of the past. Going forward, the United States calls upon Russia and China to join us in this opportunity to deliver real security results to our nations and the entire world,” he concluded.
