Russia announced the suspension of the agreement after the US announced that it withdrew from the Medium Range Nuclear Forces Agreement [INF].

Russian President Vladimir Putin made the statement. Putin has announced that his country has suspended the Medium Range Nuclear Forces Agreement following a decision by the United States to withdraw from the Medium Range Nuclear Forces Agreement [INF].

Putin also told the Foreign and Defense ministries not to start disarmament talks with the United States.

The agreement, signed by US President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet Union Leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, envisaged the prohibition of medium-range nuclear missiles between 500 and 5,500 kilometers that could be launched from the air. The agreement did not cover sea-fired missiles.

Within the scope of the agreement aimed at eliminating the threat of nuclear war, nearly 2,700 missiles were destroyed in 4 years.

Due to the agreement, nuclear missiles could not be deployed on European territory for more than 30 years. If the agreement breaks down, the United States will possibly push its NATO allies and re-deploy its missiles to European territory after February.

In this context, while the new missile construction will take time, the current U.S. arsenal and the mid-range weapons that can be adapted more quickly to launch from land said to be used.

The U.S. government blames Russia for violating the agreement while Russia blames the US for the same reason.

The US administration claimed that the new mid-range Novator 9M729 missile, called SSC-8 by NATO, violated the agreement, while the Moscow administration also accused the US of deploying the Aegis missile defense system in Romania and Poland, violating the INF Agreement. (ILKHA)