German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had discussed the INF disarmament treaty with Russia. The other party to the agreement, the United States, is set to suspend its adherence to the agreement on 2 February, with a complete withdrawal half of a year later.
“I have spoken to my Russian colleague about it and told him we’re banking on Russia correcting its violations of the treaty and disarming its cruise missiles so that the INF treaty still has a chance,” Maas said.
Shortly before that, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Washington had informed Moscow via diplomatic channels that its decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was final.