2019 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: New Start treaty, Russian S-400 missile defence system

INTERMEDIATE-RANGE NUCLEAR FORCES TREATY

For: Mains

Topics covered: About Intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty, why the treaty breach, possible threats and associated risks, impacts, Way ahead

The US has formally withdrawn from a key nuclear treaty with Russia.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.
It banned missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (310-3,400 miles).

The US and Nato accused Russia of violating the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile.
The US said Russia had deployed a number of 9M729 missiles.
Russia is solely responsible for the treaty’s demise.

Russian missiles were nuclear-capable, mobile, very hard to detect and could reach European cities within minutes.
Nato does not want a new arms race.
Nato confirmed there were no plans for the alliance to deploy land-based nuclear missiles of its own in Europe.
The collapse of the historic agreement could lead to a new arms race between the US, Russia, and China.
The US said the development of the 9M729 missile system poses significant risks to Euro-Atlantic security.
The demise of the treaty will likely heighten, not reduce, the threat posed by ballistic missiles.
Now when the treaty is over, there will be the possibility of development and deployment of new weapons

The treaty was signed by the US and the USSR in 1987.
The arms control deal banned all nuclear and non-nuclear missiles with short and medium ranges, except sea-launched weapons.
US had been concerned by the Soviet deployment of the SS-20 missile system in 1979 and responded by placing Pershing and cruise missiles in Europe – sparking widespread protests
By 1991, nearly 2,700 missiles had been destroyed
The two countries were allowed to inspect each other’s installations

The most important agreement of the old Cold War years – the New Start treaty – that limits long-range nuclear weapons is set to expire in February 2021.
It is more dangerous when new weapons technologies (involving artificial intelligence and high-speed “hypersonic” missiles) are being developed.

Turkey last month received the first parts of a Russian S-400 missile defence system despite opposition from the US. It also worsening ties between the US and Russia.
The US has warned that Turkey cannot have both the S-400 anti-aircraft defence system and US F-35 fighter jets.
Turkey and the US are Nato allies but Turkey has also been establishing closer links with Russia.

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the treaty no longer served Russia’s interests.
That happened after US President George W Bush, in 2002, pulled the US out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which banned weapons designed to counter ballistic nuclear missiles.
In 2014, then US President Barack Obama accused Russia of breaching the INF Treaty after it allegedly tested a ground-launched cruise missile.
Last year, Nato supported the US accusations and formally accused Russia of breaking the treaty.

UN Secretary-General, urging all parties to “seek agreement on a new common path for international arms control”.

The banned range for ground-launched and cruise missiles under INF treaty

Source: BBC

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