US poised to formally abandon INF missile treaty

WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States will officially withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty on Friday, clearing the way for a new arms race with Russia -- and throwing China into the mix.

The treaty -- concluded by then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 -- limited the Cold War powers' medium-range missiles, both conventional and nuclear.