The U.S. withdraws from INF nuclear treaty with Russia

2 Aug 2019

The U.S. withdraws from INF nuclear treaty with Russia

The U.S. withdraws from INF nuclear treaty with RussiaThe US has formally withdrawn from the INF treaty with Russia on 2nd August 2019.
Russia's foreign ministry also confirmed this through the Ria Novosti news agency.

US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet (Russian) leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987.
 	However, over the years, there has been rising tension regarding the treaty. The US and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) have said that Russia has violated the treaty in some occasions. But Russia has denied this.

In February 2019, US President Donald Trump had said that the US would withdraw from the treaty by 2nd August if Russia didn't comply as asked.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty

The US and Soviet Union(former Russia) signed the treaty aiming to end the nuclear arms race*.
 	The treaty banned all nuclear and non-nuclear missiles with a range between 500 and 5,500 km.
 	Both the US and Russia could also inspect each other's nuclear installations.
 	By 1991, as per the treaty, both parties had destroyed nearly 2,700 missiles.

Analysts fear that the collapse of the INF treaty could lead to a new arms race between the US, Russia and China. Today's latest technologies can lead to the development of more dangerous weapons.

UN (United Nations) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that "An invaluable brake on nuclear war" was being lost.

Another important agreement between the US and Russia, the New Start treaty is also set to expire in February 2021.

*Nuclear arms race: It was a competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union (USSR), and their respective allies during the Cold War.

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The US has formally withdrawn from the INF treaty with Russia on 2nd August 2019. Russia’s foreign ministry also confirmed this through the Ria Novosti […]

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