China regrets demise of INF treaty, strongly opposes US decision
Tehran (KNA) - China has expressed its “deep regrets” over the collapse of the Cold War era’s Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty between the United States and Russia, lambasting Washington for its pull out of the deal.
"Withdrawing from the INF is another negative move by the US, ignoring its own international commitment and resorting to unilateralism," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a press briefing on Friday.
She added that Washington's real purpose was to drop limits on itself and seek unilateral military and strategic advantages.
The landmark treaty was signed in 1987 by the then-US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It banned all land-based missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers and included missiles carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads.
The treaty, seen as a milestone in ending the Cold War arms race between the two superpowers, led to the elimination of 2,692 missiles from both sides, ridding Europe of land-based nuclear missiles.
Source: PressTV