INF Treaty Collapse Risks Entire Regions Entering Multilateral Arms Race - Moscow

The collapse of the INF Treaty is invoking the danger of a multilateral arms race that would involve entire regions of the world, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2019) The collapse of the INF Treaty is invoking the danger of a multilateral arms race that would involve entire regions of the world, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

"We understand well the concerns of civil society. The collapse of the INF Treaty could seriously impact international security and global stability, plunging entire regions into a multilateral arms race. This creates a risk of the erosion of the arms control architecture becoming accelerated as well as negative consequences for the prospects for further nuclear disarmament and the sustainability of the NPT [nuclear non-proliferation] regime," Zakharova said at a briefing.

On February 2, the United States formally suspended its obligations under the 1987 INF Treaty, which bans all ground-launched missiles, conventional or nuclear, with ranges of 310 to 3,400 miles, and triggered the six month withdrawal process.

Washington said it would terminate this procedure if Russia agreed to be compliant with the pact. Moscow also suspended its participation in the treaty in response to the US actions. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed that all of Russia's proposals remained on the table.

The United States has been claiming that the range of Russia's 9M729 missile violates the treaty's limits, but Moscow has denied the allegations, stressing that they were unsubstantiated. Russia, in turn, has complained that US defense systems in Europe were equipped with launchers capable of firing cruise missiles at ranges prohibited under the INF Treaty.