Russia says INF arms treaty terminated at U.S. initiative

The Russian Foreign Ministry officially announced on Friday the formal termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty at the initiative of the U.S. side.

National flags of Russia and the United States. [File Photo: IC]

"On Aug. 2, 2019, at the initiative of the U.S. side, the operation of the treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States on the elimination of medium-range and shorter-range missiles, signed in Washington on Dec. 8, 1987, was terminated," said a ministry statement published on the official legal information Internet portal.

On Feb. 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would suspend its participation in the INF Treaty in a mirror response to the U.S. withdrawal from the key arms-control pact.

Last month, Putin signed into law a bill suspending the country's participation in the treaty.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 between the Soviet Union and the United States on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.

Moscow and Washington have accused each other of violating the agreement in recent years amid increasing tensions.