This archive report was first published on 18 August 2019.
On August 18, 2019, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Russia would not deploy new missiles as long as the United States shows similar restraint in Europe and Asia.
The statement came after Washington's withdrawal from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia, which the US had accused Moscow of violating and deploying one banned type of missile. The Kremlin has denied these allegations.
Although Russia has also pulled out of the deal, Shoigu emphasized that the country had no plans to deploy new missiles.
According to Interfax news agency, Shoigu stated, 'We still stick to that. Unless there are such systems in Europe (deployed by Washington), we won't do anything there.'
The INF treaty banned land-based missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,400 miles, reducing the ability of both countries to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously warned that Moscow would start developing short and intermediate-range land-based nuclear missiles if the United States started doing the same after the demise of the arms control treaty.
