The INF Treaty was terminated at the initiative of the United States

On August 2, the United States withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), and now its effect has been terminated, the said Russian Foreign Ministry . The dismantling of the treaty could lead to an unrestricted arms race, the ministry said.

• The termination of the US participation in the INF Treaty means its final collapse: the tools to maintain the treaty in its current form have been exhausted, and the US Congress will not approve the ratification of the new agreement, believes . PIR Center expert Andrey Baklitsky
• The INF Treaty was concluded in 1987 by the USSR and the USA. The parties pledged to destroy and henceforth not to produce ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with a radius of 500 to 5,500 km.
• In February 2018, Donald Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the INF Treaty. He did not rule out a new agreement, but only with the participation of China. We wrote about it here and here .
• After Trump's statement, Vladimir Putin also announced the suspension of Russia's participation in the treaty. In February 2019, in a message to the Federal Assembly, Putin touched on the use of medium-range missiles. “Let the United States first calculate the speed and range of the latest Russian weapons, and then act,” Putin said.
• We wrote about what will remain after the termination of the INF Treaty here .