Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty

Russia has announced its exit from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a landmark arms control agreement with the United States.

Key Details of the INF Treaty

• Purpose: Signed in 1987 by former US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, the treaty aimed to ban all ground-launched missiles with a range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
• Impact: The INF Treaty was the first time that both nations agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals. By the 1991 deadline, they had destroyed approximately 2,692 short-, medium-, and intermediate-range missiles.
• Significance: The treaty was a cornerstone of the post-Cold War arms control architecture and a key step in reducing Cold War military tensions.

Reasons for Russia’s Withdrawal

• Russia cited specific US actions as the reason for its withdrawal, including the deployment of Typhoon missile launchers with Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Philippines and Dark Eagle hypersonic systems in Australia during the Talisman Sabre drills.
• his withdrawal marks a pivotal moment, signaling a potential new phase of a Cold War-style arms race, especially given Russia’s prior exits from other key treaties like the New START (2010) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 2023.

NUCLEAR TREATIES

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)

• Purpose: The CTBT bans all nuclear test explosions, regardless of whether they are for military or civilian purposes.
• Status: It has not yet entered into force.
• India’s Position: India has not signed the treaty.

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

• Purpose: The NPT is an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, promoting cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and working toward nuclear disarmament.
• Status: It was opened for signature in 1968 and entered into force in 1970.
• India’s Position: India has not signed the NPT, viewing it as discriminatory because it provides a monopoly on nuclear weapons to the five countries that had them before 1968.

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

• Purpose: The TPNW is a legally binding international agreement that comprehensively prohibits nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal of their total elimination.
• Status: It was adopted by the UN in 2017 and entered into force in January 2021.
• Distinction from NPT: While the TPNW seeks to make nuclear weapons illegal for all countries, the NPT created a monopoly for a few countries.
• India’s Position: India has not signed TPNW.

Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT)

• Purpose: Also known as the Limited Test Ban Treaty, it prohibits nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater.
• Status: It was signed on August 5, 1963, and entered into force on October 10, 1963.
• India’s Position: India is a signatory to the PTBT.