Effective Saturday the US will suspend the nuclear pact with Russia.
The United States says Russia has been breaking the pact for the past five years.
LIVE: Sec. Pompeo is expected to announce US intention to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. https://t.co/215C7hBn1h https://t.co/vi4laTpn0K
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 1, 2019
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to announce Friday that the US will suspend participation in an arms control treaty with Russia that has been a centerpiece of European security since the Cold War, sources say https://t.co/rLFyLGDRAQ
— CNN (@CNN) February 1, 2019
BREAKING: US announces pullout from treaty with Russia that's been a centerpiece of nuclear arms control since the Cold War.
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 1, 2019
CNN reported:
President Donald Trump and his senior officials have been signaling for months that they are ready to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which the US and Europe accuses Moscow of violating since 2014.
The suspension raises concerns about a renewed arms race with Moscow and has put European allies on edge.
It starts a 180-day clock to complete withdrawal unless Russia returns to compliance with the 1987 agreement.
The ground-based nuclear tipped cruise missiles covered by the bilateral treaty can fly between 310 to 3,100 miles, making them a threat to Europe, where officials are urging the US and Russia to continue talks, even as they consider their next steps and admit having little to no optimism that the treaty can be saved.
Earlier this month Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson said Russia had until Feb. 2 to comply, and if they’re not in compliance, the US will suspend its obligations to the treaty.
On Thursday, Thompson met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov in Beijing and Ryabkov said “there was no progress” in the talks on the issue, according to Russian state media outlet TASS.
“Unfortunately, there is no progress. The US position remains rather tough and ultimatum-like,” Ryabkov said, according to TASS.
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