U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the U.S. is pulling out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, treaty with Russia that has been a centerpiece of arms control since the Cold War.
Read alsoU.S. set to start withdrawal from INF Treaty Feb 2 – media
Pompeo says the U.S. will suspend its obligations to the treaty on Saturday, February 2.
In his words, if Russia doesn't come into compliance, the treaty "will terminate," according to the Associated Press (AP).
U.S. officials also have expressed concern that China, which isn't part of the treaty, is deploying large numbers of missiles in Asia that the U.S. can't counter because it's bound by the treaty.
The American withdrawal had been expected for months. It follows years of unresolved dispute over Russian compliance with the 1987 pact, which bans certain ground-launched cruise missiles. Russia denies violating the treaty.
