Russia retreats from one-sided moratorium on land-based missile placement

2025-08-06 07:06:40

(MENAFN) On Monday, Russia declared it is ending its unilateral moratorium on the deployment of land-based intermediate- and short-range missiles.

The Russian Foreign Ministry explained that the decision came after conditions supporting the moratorium ceased to exist, lifting the self-imposed restrictions. The statement pointed to the US and NATO allies’ failure to reciprocate Russia’s efforts, highlighting the deployment of missile launch platforms in Europe, the Philippines, and Australia as direct threats to Russian security.

To preserve strategic balance and respond to these threats, Russia decided to withdraw from the moratorium.

The moratorium was originally tied to the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the US and the former Soviet Union. This treaty banned all nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles, along with their launchers, with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.

In 2019, the US under President Donald Trump exited the treaty, accusing Russia of violating its terms. Russia denied these claims and committed not to deploy such weapons as long as the US refrained from doing so.

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