Media: U.S. to Tell Russia It is Leaving Landmark I.N.F. Treaty

Washington will inform Moscow of its intention to exit the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed by Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in 1987. U.S. media report quoting the U.S. President Donald Trump administration that Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton will warn about this the Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow early next week. The main reason for this decision was the violation of this treaty by Russia, which, according to the United States, began deploying short-range missiles in Europe capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Two weeks ago, during a meeting with the defense ministers of NATO member countries, U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said that Russia's actions were “unacceptable” and warned that if Moscow did not change its behavior, Washington would have to create an adequate counterweight to the new Russian missiles. For the past four years, the United States has argued that Russia is in violation of the I.N.F. Treaty. The issue of the denunciation of this treaty was considered by the administrations of Barack Obama, but he chose not to leave the agreement because of objections from the Europeans — particularly Germany — and out of concern that it would rekindle an arms race. However, continuing violations of the treaty by Russia and fears in Washington that this agreement limits the ability of the United States to oppose the expansion of China in the Pacific-Asian region made the Trump administration lean in favor of abandoning the I.N.F.  Treaty. In a lengthy nuclear strategy document published early this year, the administration detailed the Russian violations and concluded that the country’s “decision to violate the I.N.F. treaty and other commitments all clearly indicate that Russia has rebuffed repeated U.S. efforts to reduce the salience, role and number of nuclear weapons”. According to sources in the White House, President Trump has not yet made a final decision, but it is expected that it will be made in the coming weeks. Source: Radio Liberty