Russia has officially withdrawn from the NATO Cold War treaty which bans live nuclear testing and Moscow has tested a nuclear capable intercontinental ballistic missile from a submarine.
Tensions between Moscow and Washington are at the highest they have been since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 when the world on the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the treaty as “history” at the time and NATO has been accused expanding the US led alliance by not adhering to restrictions.
On Monday evening Russia officially declared they have left the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).
The Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that relations with the US are now “below zero.”
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NATO in turn has also ripped up the treaty following Moscow’s decision, they said it will be suspended for “as long as necessary.”
In a statement NATO said, “Russia continues to demonstrate disregard for arms control, including key principles of reciprocity, transparency, compliance, verification, and host nation consent, and undermines the rules-based international order.”
NATO has said that for more than ten years Moscow has not respected the CFE, in 2007 Russia suspended participation from the Warsaw Pact.
Vladimir Putin signed a decree in May to denounce the 30-year treaty which was in place since the end of the Cold War.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, “The CFE Treaty was concluded at the end of the Cold War, when the formation of a new architecture of global and European security based on cooperation seemed possible, and appropriate attempts were made.
Towards the end of October Putin ordered a “massive nuclear attack” drill in retaliation to a nuclear attack on Russia from the West.
The mock nuclear attack drill started was to practice a retaliation attack by Russia’s “strategic offensive forces.”
The nuclear drill involves the Russian armed forces firing the nuclear capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from Plesetsk cosmodrome which is based in northern Russia.
Putin and his senior generals have been planning the mock attacks for several months and the nuclear exercise is the first time Russia has ever conducted such drills.
