INF nuclear treaty: US tests mid-range cruise missile

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AFP

The United States tested a mid-range cruise missile a few weeks after being removed from a major treaty with Russia banning such weapons with nuclear capability.

The Pentagon announced Sunday it launched the missile off the California coast.

Moscow accused the United States of "escalating military tensions".

The United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on Aug. 2, after accusing Russia of violating it – an assertion refuted by Moscow.

Analysts fear that the collapse of the FNI will trigger a new arms race.

The Cold War era treaty prohibited missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 km (310 to 400 km).

• The United States withdraws from the nuclear treaty with Russia
• No arms race after the collapse of the US-Russia pact – Nato

The Pentagon said the missile launched from San Nicolas Island, controlled by the US Navy, off the coast of Los Angeles, was "conventionally configured", that is to say, it did not possess no nuclear equipment.

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"The test missile left its land-based launcher and hit its target with precision after more than 500 km of flight," the US Defense Department said in a statement.

"The data collected and lessons learned from this test will inform the Department of Defense's development of intermediate-range capabilities."

Russia has called this a "cause of regret".

"The US has clearly escalated military tensions, and we will not react to provocations," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the news agency as saying. State Tass.

What happened to the INF Treaty?

Russia has already been accused of violating the terms of the treaty, but the United States and NATO had said earlier this year that it was proven that Moscow was deploying a new type of missile. cruise, the 9M729, known as SSC-8.

Russia denied the accusation and President Putin said it was a pretext for the United States to leave the pact.

In February, President Donald Trump set August 2 as the deadline for the US to withdraw from the INF if Russia did not comply.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his country's treaty obligations soon after.

The United States withdrew from the INF as they had threatened on Aug. 2, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "Russia is the sole responsible for the disappearance of the treaty ".

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the US decision to withdraw was "a big mistake".

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Reuters

The collapse of this historic agreement has raised fears of a new arms race between the United States, Russia and China.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that a "valuable brake on nuclear war" had been lost.

"This is likely to increase, not reduce, the threat posed by ballistic missiles," he said, urging all parties to "seek agreement on a new common path for international arms control".

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the transatlantic alliance "would respond in a measured and responsible manner to the significant risks posed by the Russian missile 9M729 to Allied security".

But, he added, NATO "does not want a new arms race" – and he confirmed that the alliance did not intend to to deploy its own nuclear missiles based in Europe.

Last month, he told the BBC that Russian missiles had nuclear capability, were very difficult to detect and could reach European cities within minutes.

What was the INF Treaty?

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AFP

• Signed by the United States and the USSR in 1987, the arms control agreement banned all short and medium range nuclear and non-nuclear missiles, with the exception of weapons launched by sea. .
• The United States was concerned about the Soviet deployment of the SS-20 missile system in 1979 and reacted by placing Pershing and cruise missiles in Europe, which provoked many protests.
• In 1991, nearly 2,700 missiles had been destroyed
• Both countries were allowed to inspect the facilities of the other