Russia to Scrap Moratorium on Intermediate-Range Missiles, Citing US Deployment
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will scrap a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter range nuclear-capable missiles, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday, citing the United States’ deployment of such weapons in various regions around the world.
The move will kill off the remnants of one of the most significant arms control treaties of the Cold War, amid fears that the world’s two biggest nuclear powers could be entering a new arms race together with China. The INF Treaty, signed by Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in 1987, marked the first time the superpowers had agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals and eliminated a whole category of nuclear weapons.
Russia had imposed a moratorium on its own development of missiles previously banned by the INF treaty, but Lavrov said that this moratorium was no longer “practically viable” given the US’ actions. The US had formally withdrawn from the INF Treaty in 2019, citing Russian violations, while Russia denied the accusations and dismissed them as a pretext.
The US has tested missiles with similar profiles, while Russia has developed new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missiles, including the “Oreshnik” missile, which Russia tested at Ukraine in November. Lavrov said there were currently “no conditions” for a strategic dialogue with Washington, and that the moratorium on deploying short- and intermediate-range missiles would have to be abandoned.
