Vladimir Putin has moved to suspend Russia’s involvement in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and will now begin the process of developing new missiles.
Putin’s stance follows a similar decision taken by the United States of America on Friday when the Trump administration announced that it was suspending its participation in said treaty.
Russia has long been accused by America of violating the pact which was originally signed in 1987, banning the use of short and medium-range nuclear missiles by both countries, an allegation that has been repeatedly denied.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo officially suspended America’s involvement while threatening to pull out of the deal entirely within the next six months.
“Countries must be held accountable for their actions,” Pompeo said.
In response on Saturday, Putin followed suit.
“Our American partners announced that they are suspending their participation in the treaty, and we are suspending it too,” said the Russian President.
“All of our proposals in this sphere, as before, remain on the table,” he added. “The doors for talks are open.”
Assessing the damage with the BBC, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg challenged Russia’s denials that the country has violated the accord.
“All European allies agree with the United States because Russia has violated the treaty for several years,” said Stoltenberg.
“They are deploying more and more of the new nuclear capable missiles in Europe,” he added, while encouraging Russia to take advantage of America’s proposed six-month window in order to save the deal.
