IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Russia

Putin urges arms talks after nuke pact demise

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia would only deploy new intermediate-range missiles if the United States does and called for urgent arms control talks to prevent a chaotic arms race following the demise of a key nuclear pact. Putin made his statements after the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty ended on Friday, with the US announcing its intention to test and deploy weapons previously banned by the 1987 accord. The treaty banned the production, testing and deployment of land-based cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers. Such weapons were seen as destabilizing because of shorter time they take to reach targets compared to intercontinental ballistic missiles, raising the likelihood of a nuclear conflict over a false alert.

United States

Trump freezes all govt assets of Venezuela

The Donald Trump administration froze all Venezuelan government assets in a dramatic escalation of tensions with Caracas that places President Nicolas Maduro's government alongside a shortlist of adversaries from Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Syria and Iran that have been targeted by such aggressive US actions. The ban, blocking US companies and individuals from doing business with Maduro's government, took effect immediately on Monday and is the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere in more than three decades, following an asset freeze against general Manuel Noriega's government in Panama and a trade embargo on the Sandinista leadership in Nicaragua in the 1980s.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/07/2019 page12)