WORLD
US suspends INF Treaty obligations — Pompeo
Baku, February 1, AZERTAC
The United States will suspend its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) on February 2, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced on Friday, TASS reported.
Pompeo pointed out that in December 2018, he provided notice "that unless Russia returned to full and verifiable compliance within 60 days, we would suspend our obligations under that Treaty." "Russia has refused to take any steps to return to real and verifiable compliance over these 60 days. The United States will therefore suspend its obligations under the INF treaty effective February 2. We will provide Russia and the other treaty parties with a formal notice that the US is withdrawing from the INF Treaty effective in six months, pursuing Article 15 of the Treaty," the US state secretary noted.
According to him, "Russia has jeopardized the United States security interests and we can no longer be restricted by the Treaty, while Russia shamelessly violates it.
"If Russia does not return to full and verifiable compliance with the Treaty within the six-month period by verifiably destroying its INF violating missiles, their launches and associate equipment, the Treaty will terminate," Pompeo stated.