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Friday, February 01, 2019, 22:51
US announces withdrawal from landmark nuke treaty with Russia
By Agencies
Friday, February 01, 2019, 22:51 By Agencies

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Feb 1, 2019. (ANDREW HARNIK / AP)

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration announced on Friday that the United States is withdrawing from a landmark nuclear arms control pact with Russia, a move seen as exacerbating the risk of an international arms race.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the announcement on Friday morning at the State Department, citing Russia's violation of the pact, a claim that has been repeatedly denied by Moscow.

The United States alleges a new Russian cruise missile violates the pact. The missile, the Novator 9M729, is known as the SSC-8 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

The move, made nearly 60 days after Washington threatened to quit the historic Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, will start a six-month countdown period, which will lead to a permanent exit from the pact inked in 1987 between the United States and the then-Soviet Union. 

But the US said it would reconsider its withdrawal if Russia came into compliance with the treaty, which bans either side from stationing short- and intermediate-range, land-based missiles in Europe.

"Russia has refused to take any steps to return (to) real and verifiable compliance," Pompeo told reporters. "We will provide Russia and the other treaty parties with formal notice that the United States is withdrawing from the INF treaty, effective in six months."

READ MORE: US quitting INF Treaty a threat to peace

The United States alleges a new Russian cruise missile violates the pact. The missile, the Novator 9M729, is known as the SSC-8 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Russia said the missile’s range puts it outside the treaty and has accused the United States of inventing a false pretext to exit a treaty that it wants to leave anyway so it can develop new missiles. Russia also has rejected a US demand to destroy the new missile.

In a written statement issued by the White House, US President Donald Trump said "For too long," Russia has violated the treaty "with impunity, covertly developing and fielding a prohibited missile system that poses a direct threat to our allies and troops abroad."

He said the US "has fully adhered" to the treaty for more than 30 years, "but we will not remain constrained by its terms while Russia misrepresents its actions. We cannot be the only country in the world unilaterally bound by this treaty, or any other."

ALSO READ: Putin issues chilling warning on rising nuclear war threat

Trump said his administration "will move forward with developing our own military response options and will work with NATO and our other allies and partners to deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct."

An American withdrawal had been expected for months, after years of unresolved dispute over Russian compliance with the pact. It was the first arms control measure to ban an entire class of weapons: ground-launched cruise missiles with a range between 500 kilometers and 5,500 kilometers.

US withdrawal raises the prospect of further deterioration in US-Russian relations, which already are arguably at the lowest point in decades.

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