The Termination of the INF Treaty Has Been Officially Confirmed by the Russian Foreign Ministry

The Russian Foreign Ministry has officially confirmed that the operation of the Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty has been terminated at the initiative of the United States as of August 2, TASS reported.

"On August 2, 2019 at the initiative of the American side the operation of the treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States on the elimination of intermediate and shorter range missiles signed in Washington on December 8, 1987 was terminated," the Foreign Ministry said on the legal information website on Friday.

The Middle East Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. It banned rockets with a range between 500 m - 5 500 km and marked the end of the Cold War era, NOVA TV reported.

According to Wikipedia, the INF Treaty banned all of the two nations' land-based ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and missile launchers with ranges of 500-1,000 kilometers (310-620 mi) (short medium-range) and 1,000-5,500 km (620-3,420 mi) (intermediate-range). The treaty did not apply to air- or sea-launched missiles.By May 1991, the nations had eliminated 2,692 missiles, followed by 10 years of on-site verification inspections.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on 20 October 2018 that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the treaty, accusing Russia of non-compliance.The U.S. formally suspended the treaty on 1 February 2019, and Russia did so on the following day in response to the U.S. withdrawal. The withdrawal has taken effect on 2 August 2019.