US suspends nuclear deal with Russia and provides their own military response options

At the announcement, the US Secretary of State, Mike PompeoHe said the United States would suspend its obligations with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, starting in 1987, as of February 2, but added that they could return to fill it in 180 days if Russia also agree to respect it.

In a statement issued a few minutes later, Trump He explained the controversial decision that "Russia has violated the treaty with impunity, by secretly developing and deploying a prohibited missile system that poses a threat to our allies and our troops abroad."

The withdrawal process "will complete in six months unless Russia retakes its decision by destroying all missiles, shuttles and badociated equipment" violating the treaty, added the Cambodian president quoted by CNN.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov warned that the suspension of the treaty "de facto means that the United States is free from any restrictions" and that "in the worst case, 24 missiles can now appear on Tomohawk cruise with nuclear charges. "

A withdrawal of the United States, expected for several months, would put an end to several years of unresolved dispute over Russia's compliance with the pact signed in Washington by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.

The treaty between the United States and the then Soviet Union was the first to eliminate all nuclear and conventional cruise missiles as well as their short- and medium-range shuttles, that is to say – say a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

Russia denies having violated the agreement and its president, Vladimir Putin, warned that a withdrawal of the United States would trigger an arms race. Indeed, if Washington begins to develop the prohibited missiles, Moscow will do the same. US officials have worried that China, which is not party to the treaty, is gaining a major military advantage in Asia by deploying a large number of missiles whose range is greater than the limit set by the pact.

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Pompeo announced early last month that the United States had given Russia 60 days to join the deal before Washington officially notified the withdrawal of its agreement, which will take six months before the withdrawal.

The 60-day deadline expired tomorrow and Pompeo told reporters in the State Department that efforts to convince Russia to comply with the pact had failed and that it would suspend its adherence to the terms of the agreement. agreement to the violation of "no remorse". Russian

Shortly after, NATO urged Russia to "use the remaining six months to restore verifiable treaty compliance in order to preserve the INF Treaty" and added that it would take the necessary measures to ensure credibility and the effectiveness of the overall position of defense and deterrence. l & # 39; Alliance

In his statement, Trump said that the United States would develop its "military response options and we would work with NATO, our allies and partners to deprive Russia of any military advantage derived from its illegal behavior."

The possibility of a withdrawal from the United States has caused a global alarm. Dozens of lawmakers and local officials from the United States, Canada, and Europe have signed a letter to Trump and Putin expressing their fears about the consequences of the collapse of the INF. .

The German, Austrian, Belgian, Hungarian, Lithuanian and Latvian foreign ministers today called for dialogue to prevent the application of the treaty, a situation that would be a challenge for the security of the EU. 39 European Union (EU).

A US withdrawal from the pact would further deteriorate relations with Russia, which are at their lowest level in decades, and trigger a debate among Washington's European allies as to whether the alleged violations of Russia deserve not measures such as the deployment of equivalent American missiles. in Europe. The United States does not have nuclear-capable missiles in Europe; the last of this type have been removed in accordance with the INF.