This archive report was first published on 3 August 2019.
On August 2, 2019, the United States formally withdrew from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia, a landmark nuclear missile pact negotiated by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.
The U.S. decision to withdraw from the treaty was made after determining that Russia was in violation of the agreement and had no plans to come into compliance. U.S. President Donald Trump made the determination, with senior administration officials stating that Russia had deployed 'multiple battalions' of a Russian cruise missile throughout Russia in violation of the pact.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated, 'The United States will not remain a party to a treaty that is deliberately violated by Russia.' He added that Russia's noncompliance under the treaty jeopardizes U.S. supreme interests, as the development and fielding of a treaty-violating missile system represents a direct threat to the United States and its allies and partners.
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. The missile, known as the Novator 9M729, is also referred to as the SSC-8 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The INF treaty 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).
Experts believe the treaty's collapse could undermine other arms control agreements and speed erosion of the global system designed to block the spread of nuclear arms. The dispute is aggravating the worst U.S.-Russia friction since the Cold War ended in 1991.
