US gives Russia 60 days to comply with nuclear treaty

United States has warned Russia that it will withdraw from a major Cold War treaty limiting mid-range nuclear arms, if Moscow does not dismantle missiles within 60 days. 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Brussels yesterday that the US will no longer be bound by the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, unless Moscow withdraws a new system that has threatened to trigger an arms race. 

The US and NATO say Russia's 9M729



system, also known by the designation SSC-8, violates the INF treaty, which banned ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was time to prepare for demise of the deal. 

In October, President Donald Trump declared the United States would pull out of the treaty and build up America's nuclear stockpile "until people come to their senses".