Trump to quit Cold War missile treaty with Russia
The US announced on Friday it would be withdrawing in the next six months from a missile control treaty it signed with Russia in the Cold War.
The decision to abandon the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes as no surprise since both sides had been bickering for months after the Trump administration claimed Russia was not meeting its obligations and had missiles that were incompatible with the agreement.
"Countries must be held accountable when they break the rules," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a news conference. "Russia has jeopardized the United States’ security interests, and we can no longer be restricted by the treaty while Russia shamelessly violates it."
He also claimed that the treaty was binding Russia and the US to comply with rules that other countries such as China were ignoring and surging ahead in their own missile capabilities.
The US and NATO allies said Russia must eliminate its 9M729 cruise missile system but Russian officials have repeatedly refused and insisted that the US should consider its proposals to save the pact. Trump told Moscow it had until 2 February to get rid of the missile or it would begin the withdrawal process.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday: “In general, the Americans' reluctance to hear any arguments, their reluctance to conduct any substantive negotiations suggests that the decision to dismantle the treaty was made by Washington a long time ago,” Peskov stressed. “Much to our regret, there is every likelihood that this decision will be implemented within the next few days, its implementation will begin.”