Putin to pull plug on nuclear arms pact after US does same

MOSCOW (AP):

Following in the footsteps of the US, Russia will abandon a centerpiece nuclear arms treaty but will only deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles if Washington does so, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

United States President Donald Trump accused Moscow on Friday of violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with “impunity” by deploying banned missiles. Trump said in a statement that the US will “move forward” with developing its own military-response options to Russia’s new land-based cruise missiles that could target Western Europe.

Moscow has strongly denied any breaches and accused Washington of making false accusations in order to justify its pull-out.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in explaining that Washington on Saturday formally suspended its treaty obligations, said in a statement that Russia’s “continued noncompliance has jeopardised the United States’ ­supreme interests”. He said the treaty will terminate in six months unless Moscow returns to “full and verifiable compliance”.

The collapse of the INF Treaty has raised fears of a repeat of a Cold War showdown in the 1980s, when the US and the Soviet Union both deployed intermediate-range missiles on the continent. Such weapons were seen as particularly destabilising as they only take a few minutes to reach their ­targets, leaving no time for decision-­makers and raising the likelihood of a global nuclear conflict over a false launch warning.

After the US gave notice of its intention to withdraw, Putin said Russia would do the same. He ordered the development of new land-based intermediate-range weapons but emphasised that Russia won’t deploy them in the European part of the country or elsewhere unless the US does so.

“We will respond quid pro quo,” Putin said. “Our American partners have announced they were suspending their participation in the treaty, and we will do the same. They have announced they will conduct research and development, and we will act accordingly.”

MISSILE ACCUSATION

The US has accused Russia of developing and deploying a cruise missile that violates provisions of the pact that ban production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres (310 to 3,410 miles). Trump’s move also reflected his ­administration’s view that the pact was an ­obstacle to efforts needed to counter intermediate-range missiles ­deployed by China, which isn’t part of the treaty.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies have strongly backed Washington and urged Moscow to save the treaty by ­returning to compliance.

Russia has rejected the US claims of violation, charging that the missile, which is part of the Iskander-M missile system, has a maximum range of 480 ­kilometers (298 miles). Russian officials claimed that the US assertions about the alleged breach of the pact by Moscow were intended to shift the blame for the pact’s demise to Russia.