US pulls out of Cold War-era pact with Russia

The United States has formally withdrawn from a key nuclear treaty with Russia called the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

In a statement on Friday announcing the withdrawal from the Cold-War era nuclear treaty, the US Secretary of State, Mr. Mike Pompeo, said, “Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise.

“Russia failed to return to full and verified compliance through the destruction of its non-compliant missile system.”

The INT was signed by a former US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.

The arms control deal banned all nuclear and non-nuclear missiles with short and medium ranges, except sea-launched weapons.

But early in the year, the US said it had evidence that Russia had deployed a number of 9M729 missiles – known to NATO as SSC-8. This accusation was then put to the US’ NATO allies, which all backed the US claim.

Meanwhile, analysts have feared that the collapse of the historic agreement could lead o a new arms race between the US, Russia, and China.

“Now that the treaty is over, we will see the development and deployment of new weapons,” Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian military analyst, told AFP. “Russia is already ready.”

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also warned that “an invaluable brake on nuclear war” was being lost.

“This will likely heighten, not reduce, the threat posed by ballistic missiles,” he added, urging all parties to “seek agreement on a new common path for international arms control.”