US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced his country's formal withdrawal from the short- and medium-range missile treaty with Moscow.
"The United States will not remain a party to a treaty that is deliberately violated by Russia," Pompeo said in remarks on the sidelines of his participation in the meetings of ASEAN in the Thai capital Bangkok.
The treaty signed in 1987 by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev provides for the reduction of conventional and nuclear missiles to the two forces.
The United States began ending the deal on the pretext that Russia violated it by developing a missile capable of reaching these two areas.
"Russia has not returned to full compliance and verification by destroying the missile system that violates the provisions of the SSC 8 or the medium-range cruise missile 9M 729 launched from the ground," the State Department said Friday. Six months to remove those specific missiles. "
In contrast, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the medium and short-term missile treaty signed between Moscow and Washington ended today at the initiative of Washington itself.
Deputy Secretary of State Sergey Ryabkov called on the United States to freeze the deployment of medium-range missiles after the treaty ended.
"We proposed to the United States and other members of NATO to consider freezing the deployment of medium-range missiles," Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the Tass news agency.
"This freeze will be similar to that announced by President Vladimir Putin when he said that if the United States does not deploy the equipment in some areas, Russia will also refrain from doing so," he said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg commented on Washington's withdrawal by charging Russia with responsibility for ending the treaty.
"Russia alone bears responsibility for the termination of the treaty," NATO said in a statement. "NATO will respond responsibly and responsibly to the great dangers posed by Russia's deployment of a 9M 729 missile to NATO security."