Former Soviet leader Gorbachev slams Trump’s exit from Russia nuclear treaty: ‘Not the work of a great mind’

In the wake of President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will withdraw from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) this Saturday, the former Soviet leader responsible for negotiating the treaty with former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1987 is warning that the consequences could be dire.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who led the former Soviet Union from 1988 to 1991, said that the U.S. quitting the treaty is a “mistake,” The Telegraph reported.

“Under no circumstances should we tear up old disarmament agreements. … Do they really not understand in Washington what this could lead to?” he said.

The treaty prohibits Russia and the U.S. from developing ground-launched cruise missiles that have a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers or “to possess or produce launchers of such missiles.” Gorbachev, who is now 87-years-old, characterized the move as “very strange.”

According to Gorbachev, the withdrawal “will undermine all the efforts that were made by the leaders of the USSR and the United States themselves to achieve nuclear disarmament.”

He added that “Washington’s aspiration to turn politics back cannot be supported, this must be declared not only by Russia, but by all who cherish the world, especially the world without nuclear weapons.”

Trump’s decision is “not the work of a great mind,” Gorbachev said.

The treaty was a huge breakthrough in U.S.-Russia relations and was signed at a time when Gorbachev was pushing major reforms in the former communist Russia under the theme of “openness.”

Russia’s deputy foreign minister characterized the U.S. withdrawal from the treaty as “blackmail.”

“We condemn the continuing attempts to achieve Russia’s concessions through blackmail, moreover in such an issue which has importance for international security and security in the nuclear weapons sphere, for maintaining strategic stability,” Ryabkov told state news agency Tass.

“This would be a very dangerous step, which, I’m sure, won’t be just understood by the international community, but arouse serious condemnation of all members of the world community.”

Featured image via Flickr

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.