Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia should begin producing short- and medium-range missiles, previously banned under a treaty with the United States that is no longer in force.
“It seems that we need to start producing these strike systems,” Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with senior security officials, referring to missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 km, which were subject to controls as part of an agreement canceled in 2019, after months of tensions between Moscow and Washington.
Donald Trump had first announced the withdrawal from this Treaty on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF), citing its non-compliance by Moscow. Russia had then assured that it would observe a moratorium on the production of such devices if the Americans did not deploy them at a distance that would allow them to reach its territory.
A treaty signed in 1987
The INF Treaty is a treaty aimed at the dismantling by the United States and the USSR of a category of missiles carrying nuclear or conventional warheads. Signed on December 8, 1987, by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, it entered into force in 1988, with no time limit.
It involves the elimination of all American and Soviet ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 km. It is the first treaty to eliminate a category of weapons.
“We have to react to this”
In his televised address on Friday, Vladimir Putin claimed that the United States had begun using such missiles during training exercises in Denmark.
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“We need to respond to this and make decisions about what we need to do next in this area. It looks like we need to start producing these strike systems,” he continued.
“And then, depending on the reality of the situation, we will make decisions about where to deploy them for our security,” the Russian head of state added.
Other suspended treaties
Several Cold War treaties between Washington and Moscow intended to limit the nuclear arms race and ease tensions at the height of their rivalry have expired in recent years.
Last year, Russia suspended its participation in the New START treaty on strategic nuclear weapons.
The United States, for its part, provided Ukraine with short-range missiles to support it in the face of the Russian invasion. Last month, they partially lifted the ban on Ukrainians using these weapons against targets on Russian territory.
