Putin Formally Suspends Russian Participation In INF Treaty, Notifies Washington

Zero Hedge

Russia has formally pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) after previously signalling that it would take this historic step after the White House announced last month that the US would suspend all obligations under the treaty. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday formally enacting and finalizing Russia’s suspension of the INF Treaty, which was set to expire in less than six months and subject of heightened tensions after both sides have repeatedly accused the other of having been in violation of its terms for years.

The success of the Reagan-era agreement was felt primarily in that it resulted in the enduring demilitarization on the European continent in the final years of the Cold War. But Russia now worries Washington could station ballistic missiles in Europe now that the deal has collapsed. According the text of the new decree published by the Kremlin on Monday, the INF could potentially be revived in Russia's eyes but only if the US “eliminates its earlier violations of its obligations” under the deal.

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Pepe Escobar: Putin rattles sabre as nuclear pact collapses

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

President Putin's state of the nation address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow this week was an extraordinary affair. While heavily focused on domestic social and economic development, Putin noted, predictably, the US decision to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty and clearly outlined the red lines in regard to possible consequences of the move.

It would be naïve to believe that there would not be a serious counterpunch to the possibility of the US deploying launchers "suitable for using Tomahawk missiles" in Poland and Romania, only a 12-minute flight away from Russian territory. Putin cut to the chase: "This is a very serious threat to us. In this case, we will be forced - I want to emphasize this - forced to take tit-for-tat steps."

Later that night, many hours after his address, Putin detailed what was construed in the US, once again, as a threat.

"Is there some hard ideological confrontation now similar to what was [going on] during the Cold War? There is none. We surely have mutual complaints, conflicting approaches to some issues, but that is no reason to escalate things to a stand-off on the level of the Caribbean crisis of the early 1960s".

This was a direct reference to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 when President Kennedy confronted USSR's Nikita Khrushchev over missiles deployed off the US mainland.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, has discreetly assured that conference calls with the Pentagon are proceeding as scheduled, every week, and that this bilateral dialogue is "working".

In parallel, tests of state-of-the-art Russian weaponry such as the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile and the hypersonic Khinzal also proceed, alongside mass production of the hypersonic Avangard. The first regiment of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces will get the Avangard before the end of this year. 

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