MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin on Monday formally suspended Russia’s observance of a key nuclear arms treaty that the United States withdrew from last month, setting the stage for the return of a long-banned class of weapons. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987 in the waning years of the Cold War, had prohibited land-based missiles with relatively short ranges of 300 to 3,400 miles. Because of their quick flight times, such missiles were seen as a hair trigger for nuclear war. The United States has for years accused Russia of violating the treaty by understating the range of one of its truck-launched missiles. The Obama administration pressed the issue during the crisis over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and President Trump cited it when he announced the United States’ decision to withdraw.

Source: New York Times March 04, 2019 21:33 UTC