Why is Russia ditching 1987 INF Treaty and what is Trump's role in it?

Citing a statement from Russia's foreign ministry, the report said that Moscow believes that the conditions required to maintain the 1987 INF Treaty with the US have disappeared

Russia on Monday (local time) announced that it no longer considers itself bound by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with America, RT reported.

 

Citing a statement from Russia's foreign ministry, the report added that Moscow believes that the conditions required to maintain the 1987 INF Treaty with the US have "disappeared".

 

Why did Russia exit INF Treaty?

 

The statement from Russia's foreign ministry comes days after US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines to "be positioned in the appropriate regions" near Russia. Trump's action was in response to the remarks made by former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who accused the US President of playing a “game of ultimatums” with Moscow.

 

 

"The Russian Foreign Ministry notes the disappearance of conditions for maintaining the unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons and is authorised to state that Russia no longer considers itself bound by the corresponding self-imposed restrictions previously adopted," the report said.

 

Moscow accused the actions of the western countries of creating a "direct threat" to Russia's security. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously warned that the collapse of the INF Treaty would substantially erode the global security framework.

 

Russia's INF Treaty with the US

 

In 1987, former US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the INF Treaty, an agreement that banned ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres (311 to 3,418 miles).

 

According to the Arms Control Association, the INF treaty was the first time that both Russia and the United States agreed to bring down their nuclear arsenals, employing extensive on-site verifications, and eliminating an entire category of nuclear weapons. The deal resulted in both countries destroying 2,692 short-, medium-, and intermediate-range missiles by the treaty's implementation deadline of June 1, 1991.

 

US alleges violations of INF Treaty

 

In July 2014, the US accused Russia of violating the treaty and alleged that Moscow had developed and tested a ground-launched cruise missile with a range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. Washington also claimed Russia possessed or produced launchers for such missiles. These accusations were repeated in annual State Department assessments between 2015 and 2018.

 

In March 2017, a senior US official publicly confirmed reports that Russia had begun deploying the prohibited missile.

 

However, Russia continued to deny these allegations levelled by the United States and instead accused the latter of violating the treaty.

 

In 2019, the treaty collapsed after Washington withdrew from the treaty, citing violations on Russia's part. While Russia claimed that it would not deploy such weapons, provided the US does not do so, in December 2024, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signalled that Moscow would have to respond to what he called "destabilising actions" by the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) in the strategic sphere.

 

Trump vs Medvedev

 

Medvedev also blamed Nato for the abandonment of a moratorium on short- and medium-range nuclear missiles. In a post on X, he wrote, "The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries’ anti-Russian policy. This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps."

 

Medvedev, who is currently serving as the deputy chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, has previously traded barbs with Trump. In a post on X, he wrote that Trump should remember two things before playing the ultimatum game with Russia:

 

1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran.

2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the "Sleepy Joe road!"