Russia exits nuclear treaty with US: All you need to know about the ongoing standoff

Indian Express

2 days ago

Amid escalating tensions with the United States, Russia Tuesday declared that it would no longer abide by the self-imposed restrictions under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and renew the deployment of short and intermediate range nuclear missiles.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, over a statement, said that Moscow 'no longer considers itself bound' by its 'previously adopted self restrictions' under the treaty, while highlighting that US has already moved to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Europe and Asia.
This move comes after Trump, over the past week, continued to push India and China to halt their oil purchases from Russia, which he alleged, were helping fund the Kremlin's war against Ukraine, as he plans to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire.
Why has Russia abandoned the nuclear treaty? Where do US-Russia ties stand in the present times? Here's all you need to know:
It all began when US President Donald Trump last week announced that he will impose sanctions on Russia and countries that buy its oil including India and China, if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to end the war in Ukraine by Friday, August 8.
Besides setting the deadline, Trump also said he had ordered two American nuclear submarines to move to unspecified regions. Following the announcements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned everyone to be "very, very careful" with nuclear rhetoric, adding that the US submarines were already on active duty before Trump's comments.
Trump has recently become more critical of Putin, as peace talks have brought no major changes in implementing a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
Even as Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be "positioned in appropriate regions," Moscow said it no longer considers itself bound by its self-imposed freeze on the deployment of the missiles under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also highlighted that US has already moved to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Europe and Asia, following Trump's online disagreements with Medvedev, who is known for making provocative remarks on social media.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was signed between the United States and the then USSR during the Cold War era (1987).
The treaty led to the elimination of an entire class of weapons, ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometres, before US withdrew from it, citing violations by Russia. Moreover, in 2019, Moscow had said it would not deploy missiles as long as Washington did not do so.
Besides announcing a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods from August 1, Trump last week also declared an unspecified 'penalty' for its defence and energy imports from Russia.
According to a report in The Indian Express, India's import of crude oil from Russia has surged in recent years, rising to 35-40 per cent of its total purchases from less than 1 per cent prior to the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and resulting in sharply higher global crude oil prices.
After Trump's newly-introduced tariffs, Russia accused the US government of using 'neocolonial' policy against specific countries to maintain Washington's hegemony.
Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, in a statement, said, "Sanctions and restrictions have unfortunately become a defining feature of the current historical period."
"Unable to accept the erosion of its dominance in an emerging multipolar international order, Washington continues to pursue a neocolonial agenda, employing politically motivated economic pressure against those who choose an independent course on the international stage," she said.
As Trump warned that he would raise the tariff on India 'substantially' as it continued to engage in trade with Russia, New Delhi hit back at US on Monday, saying the targeting of India was 'unjustified and unreasonable', and the country would take 'all necessary measures' to safeguard its 'national interests and economic security'.
Moreover, addressing an event, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke of the desire for a 'fair global order', and not one 'dominated by a few'.
India's imports were meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer, according to a statement released by the MEA.
The MEA also called out the US and European Union for continuing trade with Russia. In fact, according to an Indian Express report, American imports from Russia have been quietly on the rise — growing 23 per cent year-on-year to $2.1 billion between January and May this year. The surge was led by sharp increases in imports of palladium (37 per cent), uranium (28 per cent), and fertilisers (21 per cent).
China, India and Turkey are the biggest recipients of oil that used to go to the European Union, as per the Associated Press report, which followed the EU's decision to boycott most Russian oil from January 2023, leading to an enormous shift in crude flows from Europe to Asia.
Since then, China has been the top overall purchaser of Russian energy, with around $219.5 billion worth of Russian oil, gas and coal, followed by India with $133.4 billion and Turkey with $90.3 billion, AP noted.
India only began importing from Russia since traditional oil supplies were diverted to Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The US itself encouraged India to buy Russian oil since the war broke out — "to maintain the global energy supply and the price cap."