The United States’ National Security Advisor John Bolton arrived in Moscow on Oct. 22, shortly after President Donald Trump announced Washington would withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Bolton met Russia’s main national security and defense figures, including National Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and President Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin. Despite expectations from some quarters, Bolton did not bring with him an official diplomatic note announcing the US intent to withdraw from the INF. This led to a certain level of hope in Moscow that Trump’s INF announcement was only a threat, intended to put pressure on Russia to rescind its alleged violations of the treaty. But Bolton was unequivocal in his public statements in the Russian capital: The INF is outdated and one-sided; it does not include China; Russia has been in violation but denies it and shows no signs of remorse; Trump’s decision to abandon the INF is final, and the official note of termination will arrive in due course. The treaty becomes invalid six months after the delivery of such a note (Kommersant, Oct. 24).
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In this handout picture released by the Russian Defence Ministry on Oct. 23, 2018 US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu meet in Moscow.
