Now that President Trump has officially declared his intention to scrap the INF arms control treaty to remove constraints preventing the US from countering China’s menacing military presence in the Western Pacific, as well as what many military officials see as an increasingly belligerent Russia, Russian officials have predictably responded by repudiating accusations that Russia had violated the treaty. One official warned that, by scrapping the treaty, the US could force Russia to “restore the balance”, a veiled reference to developing even more dangerous weapons that would confirm fears that a modern “arms race” between the three global superpowers – the US, China and Russia – has already begun.

Per RT, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said scrapping the deal would make the world “a more dangerous place.”

“Such steps [US quitting the deal], if they are undertaken, will make the world a more dangerous place.”

Peskov said Moscow remains committed to the accord and added that the US hasn’t taken any formal steps to abandon the agreement yet – though the New York Times has reported that the US government is preparing to officially notify Russia about the withdrawal some time this week. Following reports that National Security Advisor John Bolton had been pushing Trump to withdraw (ironically, Bolton is currently visiting Russia and a handful of other post-Soviet states), arguing that Russia had been violating the agreement with impunity for years. “We’re not going to let them violate a nuclear agreement,” Trump said Saturday after a campaign rally in Elko, Nevada. “We’re going to terminate the agreement.”

The US insists that Russia breached the deal by developing its Novator 9M729 ballistic missile, also known to NATO as the SSC-8. The 9M729 would allow Russia to launch a nuclear strike at NATO countries at a very short notice.

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