A top Russian general said Thursday, Feb. 15, that Moscow may unilaterally opt out of a Soviet-era arms reduction treaty with the United States, which was negotiated by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan back in 1987.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty eliminated an entire class of medium-range missiles that had been based in Europe.
General Yuri Baluevsky, the chief of the Russian Army’s General Staff, was quoted by the Interfax agency, that Russian could pull out of the treaty. He said the decision would depend on the United States’ actions with its proposed missile defense system, parts of which Washington is seeking to deploy in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Baluevsky’s comments come after President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, Feb. 10, that the INF treaty no longer serves Russia’s interests.
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