The United States and Russia ripped up a Cold War-era missile pact on Friday in a move that raised the spectre of an arms race between the global superpowers.
The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty limited the use of medium-range missiles, both conventional and nuclear.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Washington's formal withdrawal in a prepared statement at a regional forum in Bangkok, minutes after Russia pronounced the treaty to be "dead".
Both sides had signalled their intention to pull out of the treaty for months, trading accusations of breaking the terms of the deal.
"Russia is solely responsible for the treaty's demise," Pompeo said in a statement issued at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting.
Shortly before Pompeo's announcement, Russia's foreign ministry in Moscow said the deal had been terminated at the "at the initiative of the US".
But deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov also urged the US to implement a moratorium on deploying intermediate-range nuclear missiles after leaving the INF.
Washington has for years accused Russia of developing a new type of missile, the 9M729, which it says violates the treaty -- claims that NATO has backed up.
The missile has a range of about 1,500 kilometres (900 miles) according to NATO, though Moscow says it can only travel 480 kilometres.
The INF treaty limits the use of missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometres.
"Russia failed to return to full and verified compliance through the destruction of its noncompliant missile system," Pompeo said, referring to the 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile.
The 29-country transatlantic NATO alliance rallied behind Washington on Friday, blaming Russia for the treaty's demise and vowing to respond.
"We regret that Russia has shown no willingness and taken no demonstrable steps to return to compliance with its international obligations," NATO said in a statement.
"NATO will respond in a measured and responsible way to the significant risks posed by the Russian 9M729 missile to Allied security."
The White House launched a six-month withdrawal procedure for leaving the treaty in February this year.
Soon after Moscow began its move to pull out, and last month Russian President Vladimir Putin formally suspended its participation.
- 'New era' -
Signed in 1987 by then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the INF treaty was considered a cornerstone of the global arms control architecture.
But the United States said the pact had given other countries -- namely China -- free rein to develop its own long-range missiles and has accused Russia of repeated violations.
US-China tensions -- mainly over trade and maritime disputes -- have been centre stage at the ASEAN meeting in Bangkok this week, where Pompeo has pedalled Washington's "Indo-Pacific" strategy to counter Beijing's economic and military might in Asia.
Pompeo said Friday the US was "seeking a new era of arms control that moves beyond the bilateral treaties of the past", calling on Beijing to join discussions.
"The United States calls upon Russia and China to join us in this opportunity to deliver real security results to our nations and the entire world."
The INF deal was seen as one of two key arms deals between Russia and the US -- the other being the New START treaty, which keeps the nuclear arsenals of both countries well below their Cold War peak.
That deal expires in 2021 and there appears to be little political will from Moscow or Washington to renew it.
China has already rebuffed calls from the US to join the New START treaty in the future.
The demise of the INF has sparked fears of a new era of weapons development between the heavyweights.
Putin last year announced plans to develop new weapons, including a medium-range land-based missile and a land-based version of the Kalibr missiles that have already successfully been used by the navy and tested in Syria.
The US and Russia own more than 90 percent of global nuclear stockpiles, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
"The end of the treaty could spark a new nuclear arms race," it said.
INF Treaty: 1987 pact to reduce nuclear weapons
Paris (AFP) Aug 2, 2019 - Under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty that was abandoned Friday for the first time, the US and Soviet Union reduced their nuclear arsenals with a ban on a range of missiles.
The Cold War-era agreement was hailed as historic when it was signed in 1987 in Washington by US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
It opened the way to a new era in relations between the Eastern and Western blocs.
- To be destroyed -
Other nuclear accords had already been concluded, including SALT I in 1972 and SALT II in 1979, freezing the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers held by each country.
But the INF banned conventional and nuclear missiles that can travel between 500 and 5,500 kilometres (310 and 3,400 miles) and said they were to be destroyed.
It led to the destruction of 2,692 missiles by 1991, almost all the intermediate range which made up a little more than four percent of the total nuclear arsenals of the two countries in 1987.
One of the innovations of the INF treaty was that inspectors could verify in the other country that the missiles had been destroyed.
- Dangerous arms race -
The treaty put an end to a mini-arms race triggered by the Soviet Union's deployment of SS-20 nuclear missiles targeting Western European capitals.
NATO had responded by deploying US nuclear-tipped Pershing IA and II missiles. This led to massive pacifist demonstrations across Europe.
During what was known as the Euromissiles crisis, Reagan described the Soviet Union as "the evil empire".
The arrival in power of Gorbachev in 1985 and his Perestroika reforms, however, signalled the opening of the Soviet bloc to dialogue with the United States.
Three summits between Gorbachev and Reagan between 1985 and 1987 were necessary to agree to sign the INF treaty.
- Declared dead -
The US and NATO alliance have for years complained that Russia's new ground-launched 9M729 missile can travel further than the limits outlined in the INF treaty.
In October 2018, President Donald Trump accused Russia of not respecting the accord and threatened to withdraw.
Washington formally abandoned the pact on August 2, 2019.
NATO said Russia was solely to blame for the demise of the accord, citing risks posed by the 9M729 to Allied security.
Moscow in turn blamed Washington and called for a moratorium on deploying intermediate-range nuclear missiles.
Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
| Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution. |
||
| SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal |
 |
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only |
US poised to formally abandon INF missile treaty
Washington (AFP) Aug 1, 2019
The United States will officially withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on Friday, clearing the way for a new arms race with Russia - and throwing China into the mix. The treaty - concluded by then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 - limited the Cold War powers' medium-range missiles, both conventional and nuclear. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump's administration announced its intention to ditch the agreement, accusi ... read more
from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense https://ift.tt/2KktaqW
via space News
No comments: