Russia will abandon a moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter-range nuclear-capable missiles, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Sunday.
This decision, long signaled by Moscow, effectively ends the last remnants of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a Cold War-era agreement that significantly reduced nuclear arsenals.
Lavrov cited the United States’ deployment of such weapons in various regions around the world as the primary reason for this move.
The INF Treaty, signed in 1987 by the United States and the Soviet Union, eliminated an entire class of nuclear weapons.However, the U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2019, accusing Russia of violating its terms.
Russia, while denying these accusations, subsequently imposed a moratorium on the development of these missiles.
Lavrov also cast doubt on the future of the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the two nations, stating that “there are currently no conditions” for strategic dialogue with Washington.
The escalating tensions between the two nuclear superpowers raise serious concerns about a potential new arms race and increased global instability.