Russian Lawmaker Calls US Decision To Leave INF Deal Major Blow To Global Stability System

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2018) Russian member of the parliament's upper house Alexey Pushkov called on Sunday the US decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) the second major blow to the global stability system along with the 2002 US exit from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty).

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced the country's withdrawal from the INF treaty over the alleged Russian violations of the agreement.

"Trump announced the US withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

If the United States withdraws [from the INF Treaty], that will be the second major blow to the whole global system of strategic stability. The first blow was the US [decision on] exit from the ABM Treaty in 2001. Once again the United States is an initiator of the treaty's denouncement," Pushkov wrote on his Twitter page.

The 1987 INF Treaty prohibits the development, deployment and testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles.