MOSCOW, June 1 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. This agreement between Russia and NATO was supposed to prevent World War III. But, probably, it was only possible to postpone it. Thirty-five years ago, President Ronald Reagan and Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF). About why everything did not go according to plan — in the material of RIA Novosti.
Eliminate as a class
The rule of Ronald Reagan, who proclaimed the USSR an "evil empire," led to a new round of tension in international relations. However, by the end of the 1980s, the parties realized that further rate increases did not bode well.
After long negotiations and approvals, on June 1, 1988, the USA and the USSR concluded an agreement.
American intermediate-range ballistic missile "Pershing 2"
Image Source: © AP Photo / Thomas Kienzle
The parties have pledged not to produce, test or deploy medium-range (from one to five thousand kilometers) and short-range (from 500 to a thousand kilometers) ballistic and cruise missiles (RSD and RMD, respectively). Such weapons upset the delicate balance of the Cold War, because the combat units could achieve their goals in an extremely short time. Whoever installed these systems near the enemy's borders gained an advantage, which negated the basic principle of nuclear deterrence.
The document ordered the USSR and the USA to destroy the missiles already built, as well as their launchers, within a three-year period. The utmost openness was assumed: the parties had the opportunity to directly observe the process of dismantling and disposal of prohibited weapons.
Moscow "put under the knife" RSD-10 "Pioneer", R-12, R-14, OTR-22 "Temp-S", OTR-23 "Oka", as well as ground-based cruise missiles RK-55. Washington — MGM-31A Pershing IA, MGM-31C Pershing II and BGM-109G Tomahawk. The recycling program was completed by June 1991. The USSR destroyed 1,846 missile systems, the USA — 846.
The first obstacles
In 2001, President George W. Bush announced that the National Missile Defense System (ABM) would protect not only American territory, but also allies. He did not rule out the placement of its elements in Europe.
The American military on the territory of a military base in Romania
Image Source: © AP Photo / Vadim Ghirda
A year later, the United States officially withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Missile Defense Systems Limitation Treaty, which allowed superpowers to have only one area covered by missile defense.
Analysts said that the infrastructure of anti—missiles capable of intercepting a ballistic target can be used to mount shock systems - all the same RSD and RMD. Vladimir Putin immediately reacted to Bush's decision: he warned of a possible withdrawal from the INF treaty.
In 2007, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov described the agreement as a "relic of the Cold War." According to him, Russia needs medium- and short-range missiles, if only because India, Pakistan, Korea, China, Iran and Israel have them.
"These states are located not far from our borders, and we cannot ignore this," he explained. — Only two countries have no right to possess these missiles: Russia and the United States. It can't go on like this forever."
International tensions
Since 2014, Washington has been constantly accusing Moscow of violating the treaty. The Americans claim that in 2008-2011, a ground-based cruise missile with a range of more than 500 kilometers was tested at the Kapustin Yar test site.
The Iskander-M tactical missile system of the Russian Armed Forces in the zone of a special military operation in Ukraine
Image source: © RIA Novosti
This weapon was allegedly deployed in 2017. According to many Russian experts, we are talking about missiles of the Iskander tactical missile system.
The Ministry of Defense categorically rejects the accusations, pointing out that the maximum flight range fits into the limit — exactly 500 kilometers. In the USA, they say that Moscow underestimates the characteristics. But no evidence was presented.
Western journalists were invited to Russia, showed a sample of the rocket, and told in detail about the parameters. Leading publications, however, did not send correspondents.
On February 1, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the Treaty. "Russia has violated the agreement with impunity for too long, covertly developing and deploying a prohibited system that poses a direct threat to our allies and troops abroad," he said. The next day, Putin announced that Moscow was also suspending participation in the agreement.
Mk-41 launcher on the destroyer USS Chafee
Image source: © AFP 2023 / Kim Jae Hwan
And he put forward the conditions for resumption: destroy Mk-41 installations deployed on land to launch Tomahawk cruise missiles, target missiles similar to RSD and RMD, attack UAVs similar in principle to missiles. Washington ignored it.
A new reality
The Russian Foreign Ministry officially announced the termination of the Agreement on August 2, 2019. And two weeks later, the United States launched a Tomahawk that hit a target at a distance of more than 500 kilometers. Putin then noted: it is obvious that "the Americans from the very beginning led the case to undermine" the agreement.
In September 2019, Russia proposed to NATO countries to impose a moratorium on the deployment of medium- and shorter-range missiles. The West shrugged it off. A year later, Moscow repeated the offer. In response, silence.
Moreover, on August 12, 2021, the Pentagon informed about the creation of a division of the interspecific task Force (Multi-Domain Task Force, MDTF). Its arsenal includes medium— and short-range nuclear and non-nuclear missiles similar to the Pershing II. Specialists in intelligence, cyberweapons, electronic warfare and space operations will also be involved there.
This group, however, is more directed against China. The approach to Russia is different.
Storm Shadow Rocket
Image Source: CC BY-SA 3.0 / Rept0n1x /
Since the mid-2010s, the West has been gifting Ukraine with various weapons. The nomenclature was constantly expanding. Now the deliveries are even more intense. Recently, the Kiev regime received British Storm Shadow cruise missiles with a range of 300 kilometers. Washington does not exclude the possibility of transferring longer-range weapons of destruction.
Actually, pumping weapons is one of the reasons for a special military operation. Otherwise, as the Kremlin has repeatedly said, the whole world would have descended into a global war. No winners.
