US withdraws from nuclear treaty with Russia

Moscow has denied that it had violated the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile.

Washington:The Trump administration on Friday has officially pulled out from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. It was confirmed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In a statement, Pompeo has blamed Russia for the treaty's demise. "With the full support of our Nato allies, the United States has determined Russia to be in material breach of the treaty, and has subsequently suspended our obligations under the treaty," Pompeo said.

According to the media report, Russia's foreign ministry has also confirmed that the treaty is formally dead.

The INF treaty which outlawed all the nuclear and non-nuclear missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km except sea-launched weapons was signed by the US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.

The Americans said that they had evidence which proves Russia had deployed some 9M729 missiles known to Nato as SSC-8. This accusation was then put to Washington's Nato allies, which all backed the US claim.

In February, President Donald Trump set the August 2 as the deadline for the US to withdraw if Russia didn't come into compliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his country's obligations to the treaty shortly afterwards.