In a statement on 2 January 2019, the US State Department announced that Washington suspended its obligations under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, adding that the withdrawal process will be complete within six months.
The termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which was clinched by the US and then-USSR in December 1987, may lead to the deployment of new American missiles in the Asia-Pacific Region, according to an article published in Japan’s Asahi newspaper.
“Our response will be reciprocal. US partners have announced that they were suspending their participation in the [INF] Treaty, and we are suspending it as well. They have announced that they are engaged in research and development, and we will do the same thing,” Putin underlined.