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RUSSIA-US-DEFENCE-POLITICS-ARMS
Putin formally suspends INF treaty
MOSCOW, July 3, 2019 (BSSAFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Wednesday signed into law a bill on the suspension of a crucial arms control
treaty signed by US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty that limited medium-
range missiles was concluded by Russia and the United States in 1987.
Moscow suspended participation in the INF treaty in March after US
President Donald Trump’s White House announced it would ditch the agreement
for alleged Russian violations of the terms.
On Wednesday, Putin formalised the suspension by signing the bill which
says the decision to resume the agreement is to be made by the Russian
president.
The INF deal resolved a crisis over Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic
missiles targeting Western capitals, but put no restrictions on other major
military actors such as China.
Together with another key arms control agreement known as New START, the
INF was considered a cornerstone of global security.
The agreement, which caps the number of nuclear warheads held by Washington
and Moscow, expires in 2021.
Putin has said he is ready to drop New START too, accusing Washington of
being unwilling to negotiate an extension to the agreement.
Putin said at the G20 summit in Japan at the weekend that Russian and US
foreign ministers would begin talks over extending New START even though it
was not clear whether they would be successful.
BSS/AFP/SSS/2006 hrs