Russia Says It Will Stop Abiding by Missile Treaty
But Washington has accused Moscow of violating the pact for over a decade, and Russia has been known to use missiles with ranges banned by the treaty during its war against Ukraine.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow 'no longer considers itself bound' by its 'previously adopted self restrictions' under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, noting that the United States was moving to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Europe and Asia.
The U.S. Defense Department did not immediately comment on the Foreign Ministry's statement on Monday.
The 1987 pact, also known as the I.N.F. Treaty, banned ground-launch ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (311 to 3,418 miles). As a result, more than 2,600 Soviet and U.S. missiles were eliminated, in what was seen as a Cold War breakthrough.
In 2019, during President Trump's first term, the United States pulled out of the agreement. The Trump administration argued that Russia had long been violating the treaty with the deployment of 9M729 cruise missiles, also known as SSC-8 missiles. Russia denied any knowledge of the violations.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tycoon who helped bring F1 to Singapore pleads guilty in rare graft case
Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng pleaded guilty to one charge of abetting the obstruction of justice on Monday in part of a landmark case that led to the jailing of former transport minister S. Iswaran for obtaining valuable items as a public servant last year. However, both the prosecution and defence agreed to grant Ong judicial mercy given his chronic illness, and argued for him to be fined in lieu of imprisonment. He will be sentenced on Aug 15. A second charge of abetting an offence was also taken into consideration. Judicial mercy gives courts the authority to give a more lenient sentence in exceptional mitigating circumstances, such as a terminal illness or when imprisonment could pose a high risk of endangering a life. The defence submitted that Ong suffers from multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer that affects his blood plasma cells and renders him immuno-compromised. The case has been the subject of major intrigue in Singapore, a wealthy financial hub that offers ministers salaries of more than S$1 million ($775,000) to deter graft and prides itself on its reputation for clean governance. Ong had informed Iswaran that his associates had been questioned and a private flight manifest with Iswaran's name on it for a flight from Singapore to Doha had been seized by the corruption watchdog during investigations. This led Iswaran to ask Ong to issue an invoice through Singapore GP, promoter of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix, to bill him for the trip, which prosecutors say Iswaran knew would make it less likely that he would be investigated. Iswaran was sentenced to 12 months in prison in October 2024, the first time a former cabinet member had ever been jailed in Singapore, on charges of obstructing justice and receiving more than $300,000 worth of gifts. In February, Iswaran was put under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence. Ong gave Iswaran tickets to English Premier League soccer matches, the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix, London musicals and a ride on a private jet among other favours. Iswaran was an adviser to the Singapore Grand Prix's steering committee, while Ong, 79, owns the rights to the race. The billionaire stepped down as managing director of Singapore-listed Hotel Properties in April.
CNN
22 minutes ago
- CNN
Afghanistan has its ‘sharpest surge' ever of child malnutrition, UN agency says
Afghanistan is seeing its sharpest-ever surge of child malnutrition, the World Food Program said Monday, adding it needed $539 million to help the country's most vulnerable families. Almost 10 million people, a quarter of Afghanistan's population, face acute food insecurity. One in three children is stunted. The WFP said the rise in child malnutrition was linked to a drop in emergency food assistance over the past two years because of dwindling donor support. In April, the administration of US President Donald Trump cut off food aid to Afghanistan, one of the world's poorest countries. The US had been the largest funder of the WFP, providing $4.5 billion of the $9.8 billion in donations last year. Previous US administrations viewed such aid as serving national security by alleviating conflict, poverty, extremism and curbing migration. Food insecurity in Afghanistan is being worsened by mass returns from neighboring countries, which are deporting foreigners they say are living there illegally. The WFP said it has supported 60,000 Afghans returning from Iran in the last two months, a fraction of those crossing the border. 'Going forward, the WFP does not have sufficient funding to cover the returnee response at this time and requires $15 million to assist all eligible returnees from Iran,' said WFP Communications Officer Ziauddin Safi. He said the agency needs $539 million through January to help vulnerable families across Afghanistan. Climate change is also hurting the population, especially those in rural areas. Matiullah Khalis, head of the National Environmental Protection Agency, said last week that drought, water shortages, declining arable land, and flash floods were having a 'profound impact' on people's lives and the economy.
Bloomberg
22 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Neutrality Got the Swiss Nowhere on Tariffs
After the European Union, it's now Switzerland's turn to bemoan humiliation and surrender at the hands of the Trump administration. Politicians and companies are reeling from the shock of a new tariff of 39%, well above the EU's 15%, which could cost the country 1% of GDP. For Swiss drugmakers like Novartis AG, the stay of execution granted to the sector feels temporary, with a possible 25% pharmaceutical tariff to come if no deal is done. Local media have compared it to the Swiss defeat at Marignano at the hands of the French in 1515. This is obviously not an emerging-market-style crisis moment: Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world, and Rolex watches are somewhat less price-sensitive than Volkswagen AG cars. The Swiss stock market, which quickly recovered early losses, is taking solace in the fact that 39% feels like a blustery prelude to more concessions and a handshake. Already, the Alpine country is scrambling to offer more goodies to an irate US administration. One might imagine more EU-style pledges are coming, such as buying more US energy.
