Russia introduces draft UN resolution after US decision to withdraw from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Russia introduced a draft resolution for consideration by the UN General Assembly after Washington’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Deutsche Welle reports.
"The international community must react to this situation that can lead to apocalyptic consequences,” an unnamed Russian diplomat told the AFP agency. According to him, this draft resolution was already discussed in the UN Commission on disarmament and should help to save the treaty.
The source in the UN stated that the USA refused to discuss the Russian draft resolution because it was submitted too late to be introduced to the agenda of the meeting of the UN Commission on disarmament. Also, Washington was critical of the fact that Russian media received the text of the resolution earlier than UN diplomats.
The INF Treaty was signed by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President Ronald Reagan in December 1987 and entered into force in the summer of 1998. The USA and USSR committed not to test, produce and or deploy cruise and ballistic, ground-based missiles of intermediate range (from 1,000 to 5,500 km) and smaller range (from 500 to 1000 km).
The USA decided to withdraw from the INF treaty stating that Russia violated it by developing a ground-based cruise missile, the 9M729 for the Iskander missile systems. Russia replied that the American anti-ballistic missile systems also violate the treaty. On October 20, the US President, Donald Trump stated that the US would withdraw from the treaty.