/ world today news/ This agreement between Russia and NATO was supposed to prevent World War III. But it was probably only possible to delay. 35 years ago, President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed the DRSMO. About why not everything goes according to plan – in the material.
Eliminate as a class
The administration of Ronald Reagan, who proclaimed the USSR an “evil empire”, led to a new round of tension in international relations. By the end of the 1980s, however, the parties realized that further raising the stakes did not bode well.
After long negotiations and agreements, on June 1, 1988, the USA and the USSR concluded an agreement.
The parties undertake not to produce, test or deploy medium-range (1,000 to 5,000 km) and short-range (500 to 1,000 km) land-based ballistic and cruise missiles. Such weapons upset the delicate balance of the Cold War because warheads could reach targets in an extremely short time. Those who place such systems close to the enemy’s borders gain an advantage that undercuts the basic principle of nuclear deterrence.
The document ordered the USSR and the US to destroy the missiles already built, as well as their launchers, within three years. Maximum openness is assumed: the parties are given the opportunity to directly observe the process of dismantling and disposal of prohibited weapons.
Moscow “put under the knife” RSD-10 “Pioneer”, R-12, R-14, OTR-22 “Temp-S”, OTR-23 “Oka”, as well as land-based cruise missiles RK-55. Washington – “Pershing-IA”, “Pershing” and the land-based “Tomahawk”. The program was completed by June 1991. The USSR destroyed 1846 missile systems, the USA – 846.
First hurdles
In 2001, President George W. Bush announced that a national missile defense (BMD) system would protect not only US territory but allies as well. He did not rule out placing its elements in Europe.
A year later, the US formally withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which allowed superpowers to have only one area covered by missile defenses.
Analysts said that air defense infrastructure capable of intercepting a ballistic target could also be used to launch medium- and short-range strike systems. Vladimir Putin immediately reacted to Bush’s decision: he warned of a possible withdrawal from the DRSMO.
In 2007, Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov described the agreement as a “relic of the Cold War”. According to him, Russia needs medium- and short-range missiles if only because India, Pakistan, Korea, China, Iran and Israel have them.
“These countries are located close to our borders and we cannot ignore that. Only two countries have no right to possess these missiles: Russia and the United States. This cannot go on forever,” he explained.
International Frictions
Since 2014, Washington has consistently accused Moscow of violating the treaty. The Americans claim that in 2008-2011, a ground-based cruise missile with a range of over 500 kilometers was tested at the Kapustin Yar range.
This weapon is said to have been used in 2017. According to many Russian experts, these are missiles from the Iskander operational-tactical missile complex.
The Ministry of Defense categorically rejects the accusations, stating that the maximum range of the flight is within the permissible limits – exactly 500 kilometers. In the USA they assure: Moscow is understating the characteristics. But no evidence was provided
Western journalists were invited to Russia, shown a model of the rocket and told in detail about the parameters. However, leading publications did not send correspondents.
On February 1, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the Treaty. “Russia has violated the agreement with impunity for far too long, secretly developing and deploying a prohibited system that poses a direct threat to our allies and troops abroad,” he said. The next day, Putin announced that Moscow was also suspending its participation in the agreement.
And he indicated the conditions for resumption: to destroy the land-based Mk-41 launchers for launching Tomahawk cruise missiles, target missiles similar to those of medium and short range, attacking drones. Washington ignored this.
A new reality
The Russian Foreign Ministry officially announced the termination of the contract on August 2, 2019. And two weeks later, the United States launched a Tomahawk, which hit a target at a distance of more than 500 kilometers. Putin then noted: it is obvious that “from the very beginning the Americans worked to destroy” the agreement.
In September 2019, Russia proposed that NATO countries impose a moratorium on the deployment of medium- and shorter-range missiles. The West rejected it. A year later, Moscow repeated the offer. The answer was silence.
Additionally, on August 12, 2021, the Pentagon announced the creation of a multi-species task force unit. Its arsenal includes nuclear and non-nuclear medium- and short-range Pershing-like missiles. They also include specialists in intelligence, cyber weapons, electronic warfare and space operations.
However, this group is more directed against China. There is another approach to Russia.
Since the mid-2010s, the West has provided Ukraine with various weapons. The nomenclature is constantly expanding. Now the deliveries are even more intense. The Kiev regime recently received British Storm Shadow cruise missiles with a range of 300 kilometers. Washington does not rule out the possibility of transferring more long-range weapons.
In fact, gun-pumping was one of the reasons for the SVO. Otherwise, as repeatedly repeated in the Kremlin, the whole world would slide into a global war. In which there will be no winners.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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