OPINION (Express) – Vladamir Putin has signed a bill withdrawing Russia from a nuclear treaty with the United States. The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev to ban American and Soviet land-based ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 310-3420 miles. The US considered 12 post-Soviets, all except the Baltic nations, to be bound to the treaty obligations. Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,

Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan all had significant sites that would be inspected according to the treaty. President Trump said in October Russia had been reneged on the treaty in secret and the US would withdraw. The process started in February and Mr. Putin started his withdrawal the next day in response. Mr. Trump’s team said Russia’s deployment of the Novator 9M729 land-based cruise missile broke the treaty, with the POTUS saying Russia had been “violating for many years.” READ MORE


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