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               Congressional
             SResearch Service






U.S. Withdrawal from the INF Treaty



Updated February 1, 2019

U.S.  Withdrawal

The United States will suspend its obligations under the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
and submit its formal notice of withdrawal to Russia on February 2, 2019. President Donald Trump first
announced the U.S. withdrawal on October 20, 2018, and stated on February 1, 2019, that the United
States was taking this step because Russia was violating the treaty by developing and fielding a
prohibited missile system that poses a direct threat to our allies and troops abroad.
Under the INF Treaty, the United States and Soviet Union agreed to ban all land-based ballistic and cruise
missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. The ban applied to missiles with both nuclear and
conventional warheads, but it did not apply to sea-based or air-delivered missiles. When implementing the
treaty, the Soviet Union destroyed 1,846 missiles, including 654 three-warhead SS-20 missiles. The
United States destroyed 846 single-warhead missiles. Both sides completed their reductions by 1991.
The United States claims that Russia is violating the treaty by developing and deploying a new
intermediate-range, land-based cruise missile. This accusation has appeared in the State Department's
annual report on arms control compliance since 2014. Russia has denied the accusation and has responded
with accusations of U.S. noncompliance. The United States has refuted each of the Russian accusations.
Because the Administration outlined an integrated strategy to bring Russia back into compliance in
December  2017, many observers were surprised by the U.S. plan to withdraw.
The INF Treaty has an unlimited duration, but either party can withdraw, after giving six-months' notice,
if extraordinary events related to the subject matter of this Treaty have jeopardized its supreme
interests. The President can make this determination, and provide this notice, without consulting with or
receiving the approval of Congress.
Although President Trump indicated that the U.S. withdrawal was a reaction to Russia's INF violation, he
also noted that China is not a party to the treaty or bound by its limits. Supporters and critics of this
decision both acknowledge that U.S. withdrawal will have broader implications-for U.S./Russian
relations, for U.S. and allied security, for NATO cohesion and cooperation with allies in Asia, and for the
U.S.-Russia arms control process.



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                                                                                        IN10985

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