Czech foreign minister: Russia responsible for collapse of INF treaty

Russia bears full responsibility for the collapse of the INF treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty), which contributed to peace and security on the European Continent for 30 years, Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček told journalists on Friday in response to the US withdrawal.

The United States formally withdrew from the Cold War-era nuclear missile pact with Russia after giving Moscow six months to come into compliance with it. Petříček said the Czech Republic supported negotiations on a new, ideally broader treaty that would replace it.

The INF, or The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, Treaty was signed between the former Soviet Union and the United States on December 8, 1987 and entered into force on June 1, 1988. The treaty covered deployed and non-deployed ground-based short-range missiles (from 500 to 1,000 kilometres) and intermediate-range missiles (from 1,000 to 5,500 kilometres).