Russia to pull out of nuclear arms pact after US move
President Vladimir Putin said Saturday Russia was suspending its participation in a key Cold War-era missile treaty as the US did the same. China opposed the US decision and urged both countries to hold “constructive” discussions.
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Moscow and Washington have long accused the other of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) agreement, which was signed in 1987 and resolved a crisis over Soviet missiles.
President Donald Trump had announced plans to withdraw last year, unless Russia fulfilled its obligations.
But according to the US, Russia had unveiled a new medium-range missile system that breached the INF Treaty and on Saturday President Donald Trump said the country was suspending its obligations under the treaty.
"Our American partners have announced they are suspending their participation in the deal, and we are also suspending our participation," Putin said later Saturday, following a US deadline for cooperation.
Putin said during a televised meeting with foreign and defense ministers Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu that Russia would no longer initiate talks with the US on disarmament.
"We will wait until our partners have matured enough to conduct an equal, meaningful dialogue with us on this important topic," the president said.
Beijing at the heart of Washington’s decision
In a statement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said "China is opposed to the US withdrawal and urges the US and Russia to properly resolve differences through constructive dialogue".
Geng said that the US decision could trigger "a series of negative consequences", echoing warnings by both Russia and Europe that the pull out might lead to a new arms race.
Beijing is also at the heart of Washington’s decision to pull out of the treaty for while the INF pact restricts the United States, it does not apply to the rising Asian power.
According to US officials, 95 percent of China’s ballistic and cruise missiles would violate the INF treaty if China were a party to it.
This core part of Beijing’s defense strategy has also been under scrutiny following tensions around the South China Sea, with China, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam making competing claims in waters with vital global shipping routes and what are believed to be significant oil and natural gas deposits.
Trump wants “new treaty”, Beijing refuses
Brokered by US president Ronald Reagan with last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the treaty ended a superpower buildup of warheads that had frightened Europeans.
It banned ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres.
The deal resolved a crisis over Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals, but put no restrictions on other major military actors such as China.
President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington was starting a process to withdraw from the agreement in six months.
Trump said he would like to "get everybody in a big and beautiful room and do a new treaty", but in the meantime, the United States "can't be put at a disadvantage".
But China's foreign ministry ruled out the possibility of negotiating a new multilateral pact that includes Beijing.
Disputed missile
The US in December gave Moscow a 60-day deadline to dismantle missiles it said breached the agreement.
But Moscow has insisted the disputed 9M729 missile is allowed under the treaty. The defense ministry last month invited journalists and foreign military attaches to a briefing on the weapon system.
Lavrov on Saturday repeated Russian accusations that Washington itself has been in violation of the deal for many years.
The foreign minister said Russia had "tried everything to save the treaty" in several rounds of diplomatic talks.
Putin meanwhile said Russia would seek to develop medium-range missiles in response to what he said were similar projects in the US.
He has previously warned of proliferation of weapons but on Saturday told the ministers Russia would "not be drawn into a costly new arms race".
Russia would only deploy intermediate- and short-range missiles in Europe or elsewhere in answer to similar moves from the US, he added.
European leaders have voiced fears over the consequences of the treaty's demise and called on Russia to address concerns before the United States formally leaves in August.
NATO said in a statement Friday that the US allies "fully support" the withdrawal and agreed that Russia's 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile systems, whose range is the cause of US concerns, violated the treaty.
Lavrov at Saturday's meeting also voiced concerns that Washington's decision to withdraw from the INF could jeopardise the extension of the New START treaty.
That agreement, which caps the number of nuclear warheads held by Washington and Moscow, expires in 2021.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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