Putin signs decree suspending INF Treaty

By Elena Teslova</p> <p>MOSCOW (AA) – Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Moscow’s participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty <br> (INF) on Monday.</p> <p>The decision was made because of &quot;the violation of the terms of the treaty&quot; by Washington, according to the document published on the Kremlin website.</p> <p>The suspension will be in force &quot;until the elimination of the breaches by the U.S. under the treaty or until its [treaty] termination,&quot; it said.</p> <p>In the last few decades the world has witnessed the destruction of the international legal base for disarmament.</p> <p>In October 2001, U.S. President George Bush announced Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty — considered a pillar of international security.</p> <p>In October 2018, U.S President Donald Trump announced exit from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).</p> <p>In a tit-for-tat response, Putin said Feb. 2 that Moscow was suspending its obligations under the INF treaty, which was legally done with his signing of the document.</p> <p>The treaty has been widely seen as a cornerstone of European security in the post-Cold War era after the U.S. and Russia signed in 1987. It prohibits both countries from possessing and testing ground launch missiles with a range between 300 – 3,100 miles (900 – 5,500 kilometers).</p> <p>The prolongation of the last &quot;pillar&quot;, the START Treaty, is currently under question as the U.S. links it with the INF Treaty.</p> <p>