(CNN) — The United States announced Friday it has formally withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Moscow, putting an end to a landmark arms control pact that has limited the development of ground-based missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

“Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Friday announcing the US’ formal withdrawal from the Cold-War era nuclear treaty.

Pompeo said “Russia failed to return to full and verified compliance through the destruction of its noncompliant missile system.”

The US initially announced in February that this would take place on August 2.

NATO allies said in a statement that Russia remains in violation of the INF Treaty, “despite years of U.S. and Allied engagement”, adding that they fully support the US decision to withdraw.

It adds that over the past six months Russia had a “final opportunity” to honor the treaty but failed. </s> Moscow: The United States on Friday formally abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, a statement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, accusing Moscow of deliberately violating the Cold War-era arms pact.

"The US withdrawal... of the treaty takes effect today," Pompeo said on a visit to Bangkok for a regional summit.

"Russia is solely responsible for the treaty's demise." </s> Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to announce the U.S. intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty as soon as Friday, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the decision.

Russia has been in violation of the Cold War era arms control agreement for more than five years. The U.S. gave Russia 60 days to return to compliance in December when Pompeo announced at a NATO Foreign Ministers meeting that Russia was in "material breach" of the treaty.

"We either bury our head in the sand, or we take common sense action in response to Russia’s flagrant disregard of the express terms of the INF treaty," Pompeo said from NATO headquarters.

The INF Treaty prevents the U.S. and Russia from possessing any land-based cruise missiles that can strike within a 500 to 5,500 kilometers — 310 to 3,410 miles — range. The deal signed in 1987 by President Reagan and Soviet leader Gorbachev was primarily designed to keep ground-based nuclear weapons out of Europe.

The announcement was not unexpected but some arms control experts have expressed concerns U.S. withdrawal could lead to a new arms race.

"The INF Treaty continues to serve as a check on some of the most destabilizing types of nuclear weapons that the U.S. and Russia could deploy," says former senior diplomat Thomas Countryman, now chairman of the board of directors of the Arms Control Association. "Without the treaty, there is a serious risk of a new intermediate-range, ground-based missile arms race in Europe and beyond."

With the deadline in two days and both sides claiming no progress has been made, the U.S. is expected to formally suspend its obligations under the treaty Saturday and begin a six-month process of withdrawal.

"Our current situation, in which Russia continues to violate the treaty while we abide by the treaty, is untenable," Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Andrea Thompson forewarned earlier this month. "Violations must have consequences." </s> WASHINGTON — The United States formally withdrew from a landmark nuclear missile pact with Russia on Friday after determining that Moscow was in violation of the treaty and had no plans to come into compliance with it.

U.S. President Donald Trump made the determination that the United States would terminate adherence to the 1987 arms control accord, known as the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), senior administration officials told reporters.

The treaty bans either side from stationing short- and intermediate-range, land-based missiles in Europe. Washington signaled its intention six months ago to pull out of the agreement if Russia made no move to adhere to it.

“The United States will not remain party to a treaty that is deliberately violated by Russia,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement about the U.S. withdrawal.

“Russia’s noncompliance under the treaty jeopardizes U.S. supreme interests as Russia’s development and fielding of a treaty-violating missile system represents a direct threat to the United States and our allies and partners,” Pompeo said.

The senior administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russia had deployed “multiple battalions” of a Russian cruise missile throughout Russia in violation of the pact, including in western Russia, “with the ability to strike critical European targets.”

Russia denies the allegation, saying the missile’s range puts it outside the treaty, and has accused the United States of inventing a false pretext to exit a treaty Washington wants to leave anyway so it can develop new missiles. Russia has also rejected a U.S. demand to destroy the new missile.

The missile, the Novator 9M729, is known as the SSC-8 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The INF treaty, negotiated by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ratified by the U.S. Senate, eliminated the medium-range missile arsenals of the world’s two biggest nuclear powers and reduced their ability to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.

The treaty bans land-based missiles with a range between 310 and 3,400 miles (500-5,500 km).

The dispute is aggravating the worst U.S.-Russia friction since the Cold War ended in 1991. Some experts believe the treaty’s collapse could undermine other arms control agreements and speed an erosion of the global system designed to block the spread of nuclear arms.

Trump has sought to improve U.S. relations with Russia after a chill during the tenure of his predecessor, Barack Obama. He and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday about Siberian wildfires and trade.

Arms control did not come up in the call, the officials said.

European officials have voiced concern that if the treaty collapses, Europe could again become an arena for nuclear-armed, intermediate-range missile buildups by the United States and Russia.

The officials said the United States was months away from the first flight tests of an American intermediate-range missile that would serve as a counter to the Russians. Any such deployment would be years away, they said.

“We are just at the stage of looking at how we might further the development of conventional options,” one official said.

Trump has said he would like to see a “next-generation” arms control deal with Russia and China to cover all types of nuclear weapons.

He has broached the topic individually with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, including at the G20 summit in Osaka in June.

China is not a party to nuclear arms pacts between the United States and Russia and it is unclear how willing Beijing would be to be drawn into talks.

China’s Foreign Ministry has reiterated that the country had no interest in joining such talks. </s> SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The United States should resolve its differences with Russia through dialogue instead of threatening to withdraw from an important nuclear arms control agreement between the two nations, China’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The United States’ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that Washington would withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia within six months unless Russia returned to “full and verifiable compliance” with the treaty.

Washington claims Russia’s new Novator 9M729 cruise missile violates the agreement, which bans ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 km (310 to 3,420 miles).

“As an important bilateral treaty in arms control and disarmament, the Intermediate-Range Treaty has great significance in improving relations between major powers, strengthening international and regional peace, and maintaining global strategic balance and stability,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on its website.

“China is opposed to U.S. withdrawal action and urges the United States and Russia to handle their differences properly through constructive dialogue,” the statement said, warning that unilateral withdrawal could trigger “negative consequences”.

The agreement officially expires in early 2021 but can be extended by another five years if both Washington and Moscow agree. However, Russian officials have accused the United States of inventing a pretext to end the treaty, allowing them to develop new weapons.

China’s foreign ministry said it was not in favour of drawing up a multilateral arms control agreement to replace the Intermediate-Range Treaty, saying the issues were too complicated and that existing agreements should instead be maintained and implemented. </s> MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin says that Russia will abandon a centerpiece nuclear arms treaty, following in the footsteps of the United States, and that Moscow will only deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles if Washington does so.

Putin spoke after the U.S. announced Friday it was pulling the plug on the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty over alleged Russian violations. Moscow denied any breaches and accused Washington of making false accusations in order to justify its pullout.

Following the U.S. notice of withdrawal from the treaty in six months, Putin said in televised remarks Saturday that Russia will do the same. He ordered the development of new land-based intermediate-range weapons, but emphasized that Russia won't deploy them in the European part of the country or elsewhere unless the U.S. does so. </s> SHANGHAI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The United States should resolve its differences with Russia through dialogue instead of threatening to withdraw from an important nuclear arms control agreement between the two nations, China’s foreign ministry said on Saturday.

The United States’ Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that Washington would withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia within six months unless Russia returned to “full and verifiable compliance” with the treaty.

Washington claims Russia’s new Novator 9M729 cruise missile violates the agreement, which bans ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 km (310 to 3,420 miles).

“As an important bilateral treaty in arms control and disarmament, the Intermediate-Range Treaty has great significance in improving relations between major powers, strengthening international and regional peace, and maintaining global strategic balance and stability,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement posted on its website.

“China is opposed to U.S. withdrawal action and urges the United States and Russia to handle their differences properly through constructive dialogue,” the statement said, warning that unilateral withdrawal could trigger “negative consequences”.

The agreement officially expires in early 2021 but can be extended by another five years if both Washington and Moscow agree. However, Russian officials have accused the United States of inventing a pretext to end the treaty, allowing them to develop new weapons.

China’s foreign ministry said it was not in favour of drawing up a multilateral arms control agreement to replace the Intermediate-Range Treaty, saying the issues were too complicated and that existing agreements should instead be maintained and implemented. (Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Joseph Radford) </s> Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The United States has officially abandoned a Cold War-era nuclear weapons pact with Russia -- a groundbreaking agreement when it was brokered by former President Ronald Reagan -- because officials say Moscow broke the deal years ago and never came back.

The Trump administration said in February it was planning to leave the 1987 accord and gave Russia six months to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.

The treaty signed by Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev prohibited intermediate-range land-based cruise and ballistic missiles.

"The U.S. gave Russia six months to return to compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Friday. "Russia refused, so the treaty ends today.

"The U.S. will not remain party to a treaty when others violate it. Russia bears sole responsibility."

The Russian foreign ministry acknowledged the INF treaty was dead.

"At the initiative of the American side, the operation of the treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States on the elimination of intermediate and shorter range missiles signed in Washington on December 8, 1987 was terminated," it said Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law last month suspending Russia's participation in the deal.

The U.S. threat to withdraw followed disclosures by NATO that a new Russian missile system had violated the treaty. U.S. officials said Moscow also violated the deal in 2013 with its development of the 9M729 missile system.

Putin, however, denies Russia has ever breached the arms agreement.

The last major arms deal between the two nations, the New START treaty, expires in two years. </s> WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - The United States formally withdrew from a landmark 1987 nuclear missile pact with Russia on Friday after determining that Moscow was violating the treaty, an accusation the Kremlin has denied.

Washington signaled it would pull out of the arms control treaty six months ago unless Moscow stuck to the accord. Russia called the move a ploy to exit a pact that the United States wanted to leave anyway in order to develop new missiles.

President Donald Trump told reporters he would like to seal a new arms deal with Russia reducing all nuclear forces, and possibly with China as well.

"If we could get a pact where they reduce and we reduce nuclear, that would be a good thing for the world. I do believe that will happen," Trump said.

The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was negotiated by then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It banned land-based missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,400 miles (500-5,500 km), reducing the ability of both countries to launch a nuclear strike on short notice.

The dispute is aggravating the worst U.S.-Russia friction since the Cold War ended in 1991. Some experts believe the treaty's collapse could undermine other arms control agreements and speed an erosion of the global system designed to block the spread of nuclear arms.

"The United States will not remain party to a treaty that is deliberately violated by Russia," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

"Russia's non-compliance under the treaty jeopardizes U.S. supreme interests as Russia's development and fielding of a treaty-violating missile system represents a direct threat to the United States and our allies and partners," Pompeo said.

Senior Trump administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russia had deployed "multiple battalions" of a cruise missile throughout Russia in violation of the pact, including in western Russia, "with the ability to strike critical European targets."

Russia denies the allegation, saying the missile's range puts it outside the treaty. It rejected a U.S. demand to destroy the new missile, the Novator 9M729, known as the SSC-8 by the NATO Western military alliance.

Moscow has told Washington the U.S. decision to quit the pact undermines global security and removes a key pillar of international arms control.

China's new ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said China regrets that the United States is withdrawing from the treaty and expressed doubt about joining the United States and Russia in a nuclear deal.

"The United States is saying China should be a party in this disarmament agreement, but I think everybody knows that China is not at the same level with the United States and the Russian Federation," he said.

Russia said on Friday it had asked the United States for a moratorium on the deployment of land-based short and intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

"A serious mistake has been made in Washington," Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"We have already introduced a unilateral moratorium and won't deploy land-based short or medium-range missiles, if we get them, in regions where such U.S. missiles are not deployed," it said.

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia does not want an arms race and he has promised he would not deploy Russian missiles unless the United States does so first.

However, should Washington take such a step, he has said he would be forced to deploy Russian hypersonic nuclear missiles on ships or submarines near U.S. territorial waters.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg dismissed Russia's moratorium request on Friday, saying it was "not a credible offer" as he said Moscow had already deployed illegal missiles.

"There are no new U.S. missiles, no new NATO missiles in Europe, but there are more and more new Russian missiles," he said.

'WE DON'T WANT A NEW ARMS RACE'

NATO said it had agreed a defensive package of measures to deter Russia. That response would be measured and would only involve conventional weapons, it said.

NATO's Stoltenberg said there would be "no rash moves" by the alliance which he said "would not mirror what Russia does."

"We don't want a new arms race," Stoltenberg said.

NATO members Britain and Poland blamed Moscow for the treaty's demise.

"Their contempt for the rules-based international system threatens European security," British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Twitter.

European officials had voiced concern that if the treaty collapses, Europe could again become an arena for a nuclear-armed, intermediate-range missile buildup by the United States and Russia.

U.S. officials said the United States was months away from the first flight tests of an American intermediate-range missile that would serve as a counter to the Russians. Any deployment would be years away, they said.

"We are just at the stage of looking at how we might further the development of conventional options," one official said.
The United States formally withdraws from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia.