INTERMEDIATE-RANGE NUCLEAR FORCES (INF) TREATY

About: 

• Signatories: Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty was a crucial Cold War-era treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (and later its successor state Russia).
  
  
• Objective: The treaty banned the development, testing and possession of short and medium range ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of 500-5,000 km.
  
  
• Background: The INF was signed by then US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. It was central to ending the arms race between the two superpowers, and protected America’s NATO allies in Europe from Soviet missile attacks.
  
  

Ending of treaty:

• Earlier this year the US and NATO accused Russia of violating the pact by deploying a number of 9M729 missiles, known to NATO as SSC-8, which Russia has denied.
  
  
• In February, President Donald Trump set the August 2 deadline for the US to withdraw if Russia didn't come into compliance.
  
  
• Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his country's own obligations to the treaty shortly afterwards.