Putin signs decree suspending Russia's participation in INF Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending Russia's compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with immediate effect, the Kremlin said Monday.

Putin ordered to suspend the implementation of the Treaty "until the United States eliminates the violations of obligations under the treaty or until its expiration," according to the text of the decree published on the Kremlin website.

The decree instructs the Russian Foreign Ministry to inform the United States about the suspension of the treaty by Russia.

Last month, Putin said that Russia would follow the example of the United States and withdraw from the nuclear arms control deal within six months.

The U.S. administration has announced that the United States is withdrawing from the INF Treaty in six months, starting from Feb. 2.

Signed in 1987 between the Soviet Union and the United States, the INF Treaty marked the first-ever pact reached by Washington and Moscow on nuclear disarmament and a major step forward in restricting the arms race.

However, the two sides have been accusing each other of violating the arms control agreement amid increasing tensions in recent years.

Putin said on Feb. 20 in his address to the Russian Federal Assembly that if Washington deploys intermediate range missiles in Europe, Moscow will be forced to create and deploy weapons that can hit "centers making decisions on the use of missile systems that threaten us."