MUNICH, February 15. /TASS/. The idea to expand the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and include more countries resembles tasseography, or Turkish coffee fortune telling, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
"It is like reading coffee grounds. It seems to me that such statements are incorrect because we remember from the history of arms control that the parties usually try to move on to the next stage and other negotiations without destroying the old ones," he said, commenting on the possibility of including new countries in the INF Treaty.
"The United States has decided to exit the treaty. It is a huge blow not only to strategic stability but primarily to European security," the Russian deputy foreign minister emphasized.
INF: from inception to suspension
The INF Treaty, signed by the Soviet Union and the United States on December 8, 1987, took effect on June 1, 1988. It applies to deployed and non-deployed ground-based missiles of intermediate range (1,000-5,000 kilometers) and shorter range (500-1,000 kilometers). Washington on many occasions had accused Russia of violating the accord, but Moscow vehemently dismissed all accusations and, in its turn, expressed grievances over Washington’s non-compliance.
On February 1, US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced the suspension of Washington’s obligations under the INF starting February 2. Washington is determined to withdraw from the treaty in six months unless Russia returns to "real and verifiable" compliance.
On February 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was also suspending the agreement. He handed down instructions to refrain from initiating talks with Washington on the issue and stressed that the US needed to show willingness for an equal and substantive dialogue.