Russia exits nuclear treaty with US after Trump's THIS move, says 'result of...'

Russia has announced that it no longer considers itself bound by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the US even as US President Donald Trump is pressuring it to end the war in Ukraine. Blaming "the actions of Western countries" for creating a "direct threat" to its security, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the conditions for obliging to the Soviet-era treaty had "disappeared," and Moscow is no longer observing its previous self-imposed restrictions.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said that he had "ordered two nuclear submarines" to be strategically positioned near Russia in response to online aggressive remarks by Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, local media reported.

President Trump said on his social media feed on Friday said, "Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

In a post on his Truth Social, Trump said, "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

"He was talking about nuclear," Trump said. "When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared, and we're totally prepared," CNN quoted him as saying.

Medvedev, who was Russia's president from 2008 to 2012, said in a X post on June 28 that "Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10... He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!"

It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to subs with nuclear weapon capabilities, or merely nuclear-powered subs. The Pentagon keeps movements of its nuclear capabilities closely held, making it nearly impossible to confirm Trump's announcement.

But his statement nonetheless made for a striking rhetorical confrontation that evoked some of the nuclear sabre rattling that coloured the Cold War, CNN noted.
Trump later Friday said the repositioned nuclear submarines were moved "closer to Russia."

What was the INF Treaty?

The INF Treaty — short for the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty — was a landmark arms control agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union (later Russia), signed on December 8, 1987, by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It required both countries to eliminate all ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers (approximately 310 to 3,420 miles), and their launchers and support structures. 

It helped end the Cold War-era arms race in Europe and was seen as a major step in reducing the risk of nuclear war and miscalculation.

 With ANI inputs