Is the clock of the end of the world near? Russia has also left the nuclear treaty

Moscow and Washington have long accused of violating this agreement on intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) inherited from the Cold War.

The American president, Donald Trump, already announced last year that his country would withdraw from the INF Treatyunless Russia has complied with the obligations imposed by the agreement.

"Our US partners have announced that they are suspending their participation in the agreement and we are suspending it from us," Russian President Vladimir Putin said., quoted by Russian news agencies.

For his part, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Twitter that funds earmarked for the FNI would now be allocated "to finance the research and development of new weapons".

For Medvedev, the "unilateral withdrawal" of the United States "aggravates the situation in terms of international security and strategic stability".

During a televised meeting with his Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Shiigu, Defense Minister, Putin said that Russia would not take the initiative to restart disarmament negotiations with the United States. United.

"We will wait until our partners are mature enough to lead a coherent and equal dialogue with us on this important subject"said the Russian president.

The United States announced Friday its withdrawal from the historic NIF treaty intermediate range nuclear weapons, due to alleged violations of Russia.

Washington will completely abandon this agreement "in six months" if "Russia does not return in a verifiable way to the treaty" by destroying the missiles and launchers that it would have deployed, and which violate the pact, said Saturday the secretary of # 39; State. Mike Pompeo.

Last December, The United States had given Moscow 60 days to dismantle missiles that, according to Washington, violated the INF agreement.

But, according to Russia, the treaty authorizes the controversial missiles 9M729. The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that he "had done everything to save the treaty" during many diplomatic contacts.

The INF Treaty, negotiated by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, banned the use of missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers and ended the dangerous development of nuclear warheads between the two.

The agreement solved the Soviet missile crisis SS-20 the one that targeted the capitals of Western Europe and for which the United States deployed Pershing missiles.

Pompeo noted that his country – which officially announced concerns about the agreement two months ago – has dealt with Russia more than 30 times the problem of alleged violations of the treaty.

Pompeo, however, said that Washington was "ready" to continue discussing with Russia "on the issue of disarmament".

Trump himself told the press that he wanted to "reunite everyone in a big room and make a new treaty," but that in the meantime, the United States may not be "in a disadvantageous situation ".

Putin had previously warned that Washington's withdrawal from the FNI would lead to a new arms race.

In Brussels, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO) has issued an official note in which it fully subscribes to the US decision.

The head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, in turn called on both parties to preserve the treaty by "full respect".

For its part, China, which is not party to the treaty and is not bound by its restrictions, declared Saturday "opposing" to Washington's unilateral withdrawal of the Treaty, and urged the two countries to engage in a "constructive dialogue" to avoid "negative consequences".

"China opposes the withdrawal of the United States from the treaty and calls on the United States and Russia to resolve their differences (…) through constructive dialogue," said Geng Shuang, spokesman for the ministry. Chinese Foreign Affairs.

"The unilateral withdrawal of the United States could generate a series of negative consequences (…)," warned the Chinese spokesman.

A few days ago, before the announcement of the withdrawal of the United States and Russia from the treaty, the nuclear experts of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists had announced that the stopwatch of the end of the world would continue two hours after midnight .

The imaginary clock, created initially to warn about the possibilities of a nuclear war putting an end to human life on Earth, is on the verge of apocalypse, with figures similar to those of 1953 during the cold War.

The recently released calculations also take into account climate change. However, given that announcements from Washington and Moscow have been announced, it can be expected that, at the next announcement, the hour of the end of humanity will be closer to midnight.