Russia will respond equally if US pulls out of INF and deliver missiles to Europe: Putin

On Wednesday, October 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if US withdraws from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and deploy missiles to Europe then Russia will respond with equal and proportionate retaliatory actions.

Putin said at a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte, “If the United States does withdraw from the INF treaty, the main question is what they will do with these newly available missiles. If they will deliver them to Europe, naturally our response will have to mirror this”.

Putin said that Russia’s response will be very quick and effective. He stressed that Russia is concerned about US decisions to pull out of arms control treaties like Anti- Ballistic Missile treaty and INF will lead to the arms race and such steps will make the world more dangerous place. Putin said, “There would be nothing left except an arms race”.

On October 20, US President Donald Trump announced that US would pull out of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. He accused Russia of violating the arms control agreement for years and said that it could have done years ago.

Trump emphasized that US will develop all those nuclear weapons until people, pointing at Russia and China, come to their senses and said that now they cannot play game with him.

INF was signed at the end of the Cold War era in 1987, to eliminate about 2700 missiles of the range from 500 km to 5500 km in efforts to make the world a safer place, by then the President of US Ronald Reagan and Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Earlier on Monday Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “Such steps, if they are undertaken, will make the world a more dangerous place”.

Konark Bassi

Konark, a great human being by nature is also a good learner and a deep thinker. Konark portrays his incredible writing skills into journalism and writes what he finds authentic and acceptable. He is a good social worker and enjoys his time caring for others.

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