Cold War 2
RUSSIA and America are on the brink of a new nuclear arms race after they both pulled out of a vital weapons treaty.
Vladimir Putin seized the moment to mock Donald Trump, and vowed to go ahead with new hypersonic nukes which could be impossible to intercept.
Putin pledged to remove Russia from the Intermediate- Range Nuclear Forces treaty after it was ditched by the US President.
The deal, struck in 1987 by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, kept missiles out of Europe and was seen as key in ending the Cold War. But it collapsed in October when Trump accused Russia of developing missiles that broke the rules.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed on Friday it was suspending the treaty.
He said in a tweet: “For 5+ years we pressed Russia to comply with the INF treaty. Russia remains in material breach and is fielding illegal missiles. Time has run out. Tomorrow, the United States will suspend its INF obligations and notify all parties of US intent to withdraw in six months.”
Russia has previously denied breaking the treaty by developing deadly new weapons that travel at five times the speed of sound.
Yesterday Russian president Putin said they would now begin their development.
He also accused Trump of being too immature for talks, saying: “We will wait until our partners have matured enough to conduct an equal, meaningful dialogue with us on this important topic.”
Putin said Russia would seek to develop the medium-range weapons because America was already developing its own. But he said he would only base nuclear weapons in Europe if the US did first.
The INF treaty bans groundlaunched missiles with a range of 310 miles to 3,415 miles, and bans either country from stationing land-based missiles in Europe.
Backing the US, NATO blamed Russia’s “covert testing”, insisting: “Allies fully support this action.”
Ex US diplomat Professor Melvyn Levitsky said last night the INF was “an historic arms treaty” intended to “eliminate a whole class of nuclear weapons”.
Prof Levitsky, a former political officer at the US embassy in Moscow, warned: “It’s a blow to arms control and could lead to a new arms race.”