Russia Exits INF Treaty, Blames NATO
Moscow cites "direct threat" from Western missile deployment, leading to new fears of a nuclear arms race.
GG News Bureau
Moscow, 5th Aug: Russia has officially declared it is no longer bound by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles, effectively abandoning the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Moscow’s Foreign Ministry and other senior officials blamed the decision on a “direct and strategic threat” to the country’s security from Western missile deployments.
The announcement comes amidst escalating tensions with the US and follows a public exchange of threats on social media between US President Donald Trump and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Trump recently ordered two nuclear submarines to be “positioned in the appropriate regions” in response to what he called provocative remarks from Medvedev about the risk of war.
In a formal statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, “The conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have disappeared.” It pointed to recent US military activities and the deployment of American ground-based intermediate-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, including announced plans for systems like Typhon and Dark Eagle to be based in Germany.
Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as the deputy head of Russia’s powerful Security Council, explicitly blamed NATO countries for the move. In a post on X, he warned, “This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps.” While Medvedev did not elaborate on what these steps might be, the Foreign Ministry indicated that Russia’s leadership would decide on “offsetting military-technical measures” to restore a strategic balance.
The US had already withdrawn from the INF Treaty in 2019, citing Russia’s non-compliance, but Russia had maintained a unilateral commitment to its terms. The Kremlin, while playing down Trump’s recent comments on submarines, urged all parties to be “very, very cautious with nuclear rhetoric.” The latest development marks another significant erosion of the arms control framework between the world’s two largest nuclear powers, raising concerns among analysts about the potential for a new arms race.
