Russia warns of global conflict over nuclear pact collapse

[December 22, 2018]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday that the scrapping of a Cold War era nuclear pact may lead to an arms race and direct confrontation between several global regions, after a proposal by Moscow was rejected in a United Nations vote.

Moscow had put forward a resolution in support of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) which bans Moscow and Washington from stationing short- and intermediate-range, land-based missiles in Europe.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that the UN had failed to vote in favor of the proposal.

"A new blow has been dealt on the global architecture of security and stability. Now, with the collapse of the INF treaty, several global regions could be plunged into the arms race or even into a direct confrontation," it said.

Washington has threatened to pull out of the accord, saying Moscow failed to comply with it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attend annual news conference in Moscow, Russia December 20, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United States of raising the risk of nuclear war by threatening to spurn the key arms control treaty and refusing to hold talks about another pact that expires soon.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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