Russia says it’s no longer bound by intermediate missile moratorium

Russia linked the decision to efforts by the U.S. and its allies to develop intermediate range weapons and preparations for their deployment in Europe and other parts of the world.

Russia has declared that it no longer considers itself bound by a self-imposed moratorium on the deployment of nuclear-capable intermediate range missiles, a warning that potentially sets the stage for a new arms race as tensions between Moscow and Washington rise again over Ukraine.

In a statement Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry linked the decision to efforts by the U.S. and its allies to develop intermediate range weapons and preparations for their deployment in Europe and other parts of the world. It specifically cited U.S. plans to deploy Typhoon and Dark Eagle missiles in Germany starting next year.

The ministry noted that such actions by the U.S. and its allies create “destabilizing missile potentials” near Russia, creating a “direct threat to the security of our country” and carry “significant harmful consequences for regional and global stability, including a dangerous escalation of tensions between nuclear powers.”

It didn’t say what specific moves the Kremlin might take, but President Vladimir Putin has previously announced that Moscow was planning to deploy its new Oreshnik missiles on the territory of its neighbor and ally Belarus later this year.

Asked where and when Russia could potentially deploy intermediate-range weapons, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it’s not something to be announced in advance.

“Russia no longer has any limitations, Russia no longer considers itself to be constrained by anything,” Peskov told reporters. “Therefore Russia believes it has the right to take respective steps if necessary.”

“Decisions on specific parameters of response measures will be made by the leadership of the Russian Federation based on an interdepartmental analysis of the scale of deployment of American and other Western land-based intermediate-range missiles, as well as the development of the overall situation in the area of international security and strategic stability,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The Russian statement follows President Donald Trump’s announcement Friday that he’s ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines “based on the highly provocative statements” of Dmitry Medvedev, who was president in 2008-12 to allow Putin, bound by term limits, to later return to the office. Trump’s statement came as his deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in Ukraine approaches later this week.