He will not have had time to celebrate his 32 spring. The nuclear disarmament treaty INF, signed on December 8, 1987, was officially declared dead Friday by Russia. In fact, a month after Vladimir Putin's ratification of the suspension of Moscow's participation, Washington confirmed its exit from the treaty on Friday morning. Since then, the two countries have blamed each other for the failure of the treaty.
Russian missile at the heart of the debate
"August 2, 2019, at the American initiative, ceases the validity of the Treaty signed on December 8, 1987 in Washington by the Soviet Union and the United States on the liquidation of intermediate-range missiles", announced the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. "The withdrawal of the United States in accordance with Article XV of the treaty takes effect [Friday] because Russia has not returned to its full respect and verified," said in a statement the head of the American diplomacy Mike Pompeo.
This treaty abolishes the use of a whole series of nuclear missiles of intermediate range (from 500 to 5,500 km). In the 1980s, this led to the elimination of Russian SS20 and US Pershing deployed in Europe. If it was at the heart of new negotiations, it is because of the Russian missile 9M729 which, according to Westerners, violates the INF treaty. Moscow, for its part, insists by insisting that this missile has a maximum range of 480 kilometers.
Conversation at cross purposes
For six months, a deaf dialogue had begun between the United States and Russia. The two powers, after launching a whole lot of mutual accusations of violation, let Friday expire the ultimatum launched by the administration of Donald Trump in February without moving on their positions.
"The INF Treaty has been useful to us, but it only works if both parties respect it," Pentagon chief Mark Esper said recently. "The world will lose a valuable tool against nuclear war," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday. "It will probably strengthen, not weaken, the threat posed by ballistic missiles."
INF death settles the United States
After the end of the INF Treaty, there will remain in effect only one bilateral nuclear agreement between Moscow and Washington: the START Treaty, which maintains the nuclear arsenals of both countries well below the level of the Cold War and the last part of which expires in 2021. Questioned on Thursday about the INF Treaty, US President Donald Trump replied: "Russia would like to do something about a nuclear treaty, I agree." "They would like to do something and me too," he added without further details.
In fact, the death of the INF treaty suits the United States well, allowing the Pentagon to modernize its arsenal to counter the rise of China, which seeks to assert its military supremacy in Asia.