Nuclear missile race real threat

THE threat of a new nuclear arms race between Russia and the US intensified yesterday.

Washington warned it will pull out of a disarmament deal within 60 days unless Russia observes the strict terms of the 1987 treaty. Military observers say a new Russian missile system had breached the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “We either bury our head in the sand or we take common sense action.

“The United States today declares Russia in material breach of the treaty and we will suspend our obligations as a remedy in 60 days unless Russia returns to full and verifiable compliance.”

NATO said it was “up to Russia” to save the Cold War agreement. In October, President Donald Trump declared the US would pull out of the treaty and build up America’s nuclear stockpile “until people come to their senses”.

The INF treaty prohibits the US and Russia from possessing, producing or test-flying a ground-launched cruise missile with a range of 310 to 3410 miles. It eliminated a whole category of nuclear weapons from American and Russian arsenals.

But in 2012 the US accused Russia of violating the treaty with a range of weapons.

Russia has in turn accused the US of breaking the treaty with its missile defences. At the end of the 60-day period proposed by Mr Pompeo, the US would give six months’ notice it was pulling out of the INF.

In Washington yesterday, Mr Pompeo told his NATO counterparts the range of Russia’s new SSC-8 missiles “makes it a direct menace to Europe”. Foreign ministers from the 29-member NATO alliance said in a joint statement: “This is part of Russia’s broader pattern of behaviour that is intended to weaken the overall Euro-Atlantic security architecture. We call on Russia to return urgently to full and verifiable compliance.”

The INF treaty was signed in 1987 between president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Western defence chiefs have credited it with keeping nuclear-tipped missiles out of Europe for the past 30 years.

But US National Security Adviser John Bolton last month flew to Moscow to hand-deliver to President Vladimir Putin President Trump’s judgment that Russia had violated the treaty.

THIS IS PART OF RUSSIA’S BROADER PATTERN OF BEHAVIOUR THAT IS INTENDED TO WEAKEN THE OVERALL EURO-ATLANTIC SECURITY ARCHITECTURE.

JOINT NATO FOREIGN MINISTERS