Russia said it has suspended the arms treaty, a month after tit-for-tat threats bounced between Moscow and Washington. The Trump administration has accused Russia of violating the Reagan-era accord.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M.Blinov
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday officially ended Russia's participation in the Cold War-era Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), after the United States first announced it would abandon the deal.
Putin "signed a decree regarding the suspension of Russia's participation in the agreement between the USSR and the US," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Moscow and Washington have accused one another of breaching the INF treaty made between the US and the former Soviet Union in 1987. Russia denies breaking the accord, as does the US.
The accord was negotiated by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ended a superpower buildup of warheads that had frightened Europe.
It banned ground-launched missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (300 to 3,400 miles) and addressed Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals, but put no restrictions on other major military actors such as China.
NATO has said that US allies "fully support" its withdrawal from the pact, insisting that Russia's 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile systems violate the treaty.
Some members of the European Union have expressed concern over the consequences of the treaty's demise and called on Russia to address concerns before the US formally leaves in August.
German reactions to Trump's threat to ditch nuclear treaty with Russia
US President Donald Trump's threat to pull out of the INF treaty with Russia drew concerned reactions from across the political spectrum in Germany. Russia also faced criticism for testing the treaty's terms.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Merkel's government 'regrets' Trump's decision
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government voiced immediate concern over US President Donald Trump's threats to pull out of the INF nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Berlin said it "regrets" Washington's decision, adding that it urged Russia to "dispel the serious doubts about its adherence to the treaty that had arisen as a result of a new type of Russian missile."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Foreign Ministry: US move puts Europe at risk
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Trump's move poses "difficult questions for us and for Europe" since the INF treaty is "an important pillar of our European security architecture."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Defense minister urges NATO involvement
Maintaining the level of security in Europe was the primary concern of German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen. "Regardless of whether the treaty has to be saved or renegotiated, it is important that all NATO states be included in the discussion," she told reporters during a trip to China.
Image: Reuters/How Hwee Young
Nobel-winners urge action from Germany
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won a Nobel Peace Prize last year, called on Berlin to intervene in the tug-of-war between the US and Russia. The potential threat to people living in Europe is massive, warned Johannes Mikeska, the head of ICAN's Germany branch. "That's why it is urgent for the German government to now mediate between the US and Russia," he said.
Image: Getty Images/O. Messinger
Greens: Ban all US nukes from Germany
The Greens described Trump's move as "absolutely fatal." Annalena Baerbock, the co-leader of the Greens, urged Merkel's government to take a stand against Washington by getting rid of the US nuclear weapons still stationed in Germany. "If the German government is serious about its appeals to the US government, it must now say: 'We are ending Germany's nuclear participation,'" she said.
Image: Reuters/H. Hanschke
FDP leader backs Trump's argument
Christian Lindner, the leader of the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), said although he thinks Trump's decision is "dangerous," Washington's reasoning was sound. "What's correct is that Putin isn't adhering to the INF!" Lindner wrote on Twitter. The FDP chief also slammed the Greens' proposal to remove US weapons from Germany, saying it would leave Germany "defenseless."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. Schwarz
Germany, Europe 'extremely worried'
The deputy leader of the FDP, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, told DW that he was deeply concerned about the type of cruise missiles that were prohibited by the treaty. He noted that it "concerns a category of weapons that would reach Europe — not the continental United States." He added that he believes the treaty can be saved "if all sides share the intention of avoiding a really ruinous arms race."
