"We will Build Nuclear Missiles if US Does Same"- Russian President

Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would start developing
intermediate - range nuclear missiles if the United States leaves a key arms
agreement and begins developing the weapons as well .

Putin told Russian news agencies that a U . S. withdrawal from the treaty would mean Washington has concluded it “ has to have these weapons” and that Moscow “ will do the same. ”
U . S . Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told NATO ministers in Brussels today
it will begin the six -month process of withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty in 60 days if Moscow does not regain compliance with
the treaty .
Pompeo accused Russia of deploying “ multiple battalions of the SSC - 8
missiles, ” a land- based, intermediate -range Cruise missile capable of carrying
nuclear warheads . Moscow has denied deploying such weapon systems .
“ It makes no sense for the United States to remain in a treaty that constrains
our ability to respond to Russia ’s violations. Russia has reversed the trajectory
of diminishing nuclear risk in Europe , ” Pompeo told reporters in Brussels .
The 1987 INF treaty , negotiated by then- U . S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, eliminated all nuclear missiles with a range
between 500 and 5, 500 kilometers, reducing the ability to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.