Russia says INF arms treaty terminated at US initiative

MOSCOW - The Russian Foreign Ministry officially announced on Friday the formal termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty at the initiative of the US side.

"On Aug 2, 2019, at the initiative of the US side, the operation of the treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States on the elimination of medium-range and shorter-range missiles, signed in Washington on Dec 8, 1987, was terminated," said a ministry statement published on the official legal information Internet portal.

On Feb 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would suspend its participation in the INF Treaty in a mirror response to the US withdrawal from the key arms-control pact.

Last month, Putin signed into law a bill suspending the country's participation in the treaty.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 between the Soviet Union and the United States on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.

Moscow and Washington have accused each other of violating the agreement in recent years amid increasing tensions.