Thirty-one years ago, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals and ultimately destroyed nearly 2700 missiles.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 was viewed as a pivotal moment in ending the Cold War.
Now, the United States is threatening to withdraw from that treaty, accusing Russia of violating the pact with a cruise missile program.
CGTN’s Julia Chapman reports from Moscow.
To discuss all of this:
- Vladimir Golstein is an associate professor of Slavic Studies at Brown University.
- Pavel Felgenhauer is a Moscow-based defense analyst and columnist for Novaya Gazeta.
- Aurel Braun is a professor of international relations and political science at the University of Toronto.
- John Sitilides is a geopolitical strategist with Trilogy Advisors here in Washington, DC.
For more:
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the US decision to ditch the #INF treaty means that Washington has decided that the US "has to have these weapons". Russia's response, according to Putin, will be: "We will do the same." https://t.co/Use0g2S2MD pic.twitter.com/ph57iKKOBd
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) December 6, 2018
#US demands #Russia ‘end or modify’ missile it doesn’t like to save #INF treaty https://t.co/xJ5DMR4lXy pic.twitter.com/ZcBxkENuzQ
— RT (@RT_com) December 6, 2018
OPINION: INF Treaty ultimatum to #Russia 'doesn't make any sense for US interests', professor says https://t.co/aTfNIaWrsP pic.twitter.com/sT4lB98UZY
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) December 6, 2018