After the US announced its withdrawal from the INF disarmament treaty on Friday (see video above), Russia also announced on Saturday that it would resign from the agreement to abandon nuclear weapons. „The US partners have declared suspension of their participation in the agreement and we are also suspending it“, said Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu – and announced the construction of new missiles.
According to Putin, no new negotiations with the US on the subject should be conducted. „We want to wait until our partners are mature enough to engage in an equal and meaningful dialogue on this important issue.“ Putin stressed that Russia will now also be working on new missiles. „At the same time we do not want to be drawn into an expensive arms race,“ said the head of state.
Contract was completed in 1987
The contract prohibits cruise missiles with a range of between 500 and 5500 kilometers and also prohibits the production and testing of such systems. The abbreviation INF stands for „Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces“, in German: Nuclear Medium-Range Systems. The US and the then Soviet Union had the contract closed in 1987.
