Washington will suspend Saturday the INF Treaty

The United States will cease on Saturday to respect the 1987 treaty with Russia on the intermediate nuclear forces (INF) and will officially withdraw from this pact in six months, unless Moscow stops violating the agreement.

"Russia refuses to take steps to return to a real and verifiable respect" of the treaty, said Friday the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "We will officially inform Russia and the other parties to the treaty that the United States will withdraw from the INF treaty in six months."

The INF treaty was signed 32 years ago by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It aimed at the elimination of all American and Russian ballistic missiles and cruise missiles launched from the ground and having a range between 500 km and 5,500 km.

Washington accuses Moscow for several months of violating this agreement by lining up in its military arsenal missiles Novator 9M729 (SSC-8 for NATO).

Mike Pompeo once again asked Friday for the destruction of these missiles, their launchers and associated equipment, otherwise "the treaty will have lived".

Donald Trump said he wants to discuss with Russia a new treaty on arms control.

"I hope we will be able to bring everyone together in a big and beautiful hall and write a new treaty that would be much better," he told reporters at the White House.

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