Russia Abandons 38‑Year INF Moratorium, Citing Trump‑Era Threats
Moscow (The Uttam Hindu): Amid recent threats from US President Donald Trump, Russia has taken a big decision and lifted the ban on the deployment of short and medium-range missiles. A voluntary ban on the deployment of these types of missiles was imposed years ago, which Russia has now ended. The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Monday saying that it no longer considers itself bound by this ban, because the conditions necessary to maintain this ban have ended.
This move by Russia has come after the order of US President Trump, in which he had instructed to deploy two nuclear submarines of America near the coast of Russia. After this order, the tension between Russia and America has deepened even more.
It is worth noting that in the year 1987, a historic agreement was reached between Russia and America, in which both the countries agreed not to deploy ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. However, America unilaterally withdrew from this agreement in the year 2019.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said, "Our repeated warnings on this issue were ignored. We made it clear that we would deploy such missiles only if the US takes such a step first. Now that the US has taken such a step, we have also decided to lift this ban."