America threatens world after its withdrawal from nuclear missile treaty

Sherif Abdel-Zaher

Mutual accusations between Russia and the United States took place after Washington announced on Friday, August 2, 2019 officially its withdrawal from the Treaty on Nuclear Weapons signed with Moscow, after the agreement lasted for nearly 32 years during the Cold War.

The United States announced its formal withdrawal from the treaty, after Moscow announced the end of the treaty at the initiative of Washington.

“The withdrawal of the United States from the treaty starts today,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Bangkok for a regional summit. “Russia is solely responsible for the end of the treaty.”

The agreement calls for the elimination of a full range of medium- and long-range nuclear and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,000 km.

In December 1987, US President Ronald Reagan signed with the late Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev the agreement because of the deployment of the last SS-20 nuclear missiles, which were aimed at the capitals of Western Europe, and agreed to withdraw more than 2,600 conventional nuclear short- and medium-range missiles.

NATO threatens Russia

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has blamed Russia for the end of the Middle East Nuclear Weapons Treaty and promises a decisive response, according to Sky News.

US Secretary of State Pompeo said in a statement: “Russia failed to fully abide by the treaty by (not to accept) the destruction of its missile systems as it does not match with them such as the ground missiles, the SSC-8 and 9M729 medium-term,” according to Voice of America .

“Russia’s non-compliance with the treaty threatens US interests. Moscow’s development of missile systems that violates the treaty and its deployment poses a direct threat to the United States, our allies and partners,” he said.

Russia said in a statement that it had asked the United States to suspend the deployment of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe with the formal termination of an important arms control treaty that would ban such a move, according to Reuters.

“We have proposed to the United States and other NATO countries to consider the possibility of announcing a moratorium on the deployment of short- and medium-range missiles, such as those issued by Vladimir Putin,” said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Reka Bekov.

The medium-range nuclear weapons treaty banned conventional and nuclear ballistic missiles and guided land-based cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. The suspension means that both Washington and Moscow have the legal right to develop and disseminate them.