Peaceniks have a new reason to be worried!

Peaceniks have a new reason to be worried.

America is now no longer part of a vital nuclear deal that had so far prevented it and Russia from starting a potential World War 3.

It won’t be wrong to say that the Cold War has come back to haunt us.

US defies the world order, yet again. Pulls out of Cold War-era pact with Russia

In a move that has raised fears of a new nuclear arms race, the US has formally withdrawn from a key nuclear treaty with Russia.

U.S will no longer be a part of The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

What is it?

The INF treaty was signed in 1987 by the then US President Ronald Reagan and Russian (then Soviet Union) leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

It prohibits both countries from owning nuclear missiles with ranges between 500 to 5,500 km.

As per the agreement, the U.S and the Soviet Union destroyed nearly 2,700 missiles by 1991.

Both countries also allowed inspections of each other's installations.

Start of Blame Game

In recent years both the U.S and Russia have accused each other of violating the terms of this treaty.

Earlier this year, the US and its NATO allies accused Russia of deploying a new type of cruise missile, having a range of over 500 kilometres, a charge that Russia denied.

U.S President Trump then set Aug 2 as a deadline for the US to withdraw from the pact if Russia didn't stop violating it.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his country's own obligations to the treaty shortly afterwards.

What will be the impact?

The INF treaty is the only disarmament agreement ever signed to eliminate a whole category of nuclear weapons.

Its demise is a significant setback for the supporters of arms control.

They fear that both sides will now focus on developing and deploying new nuclear weapons.