Russia suspended its participation in a key European arms control treaty

Russia suspended its participation in a key European arms control treaty that governs deployment of troops on the continent, a move that threatened to further aggravate Moscow's already tense relations with the West. Putin has in the past threatened to freeze his country's compliance with the treaty, accusing the United States and its NATO partners of undermining regional stability with U.S. plans for a missile defense system in former Soviet bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Under the moratorium, Russia will halt inspections and verifications of its military sites by NATO countries and will no longer limit the number of its conventional weapons, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The White House reacted with disappointment to Russia's decision.