Russia’s defense minister on Tuesday ordered work to begin on new land-based intermediate range missiles, to be ready within two years. The move comes in response to the U.S. decision to pull out of a key nuclear arms treaty that symbolized the end of the Cold War.
The U.S. said last week that because of Russian violations, it would no longer abide by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty, which required the destruction of ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometers (310-3,410 miles). Putin responded by suspending Russia’s observation of the treaty, claiming the U.S. had violated the agreement long ago.
“Our response will be symmetrical,” Putin said, as reported by NPR’s Moscow Correspondent Lucian Kim. “If our American partners suspend their participation in the INF treaty, so will we. And if they start working on new weapons, so will we.”
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