U.S.-Russia relations are deteriorating fast. The United States will begin the process of leaving the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 60 days if Russia continues to defy it, according to a statement released by the State Department. The Kremlin held the line, insisting that it never stopped complying with the treaty. The Russian military had more to say. The chief of Russia’s general staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, warned that Russia would retaliate if the treaty collapsed – and that countries that hosted U.S. intermediate-range and short-range missiles would be the targets of its response. Only a few days earlier, after refusing to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the G-20, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a new round of Russia sanctions for the poisoning of former Russian intelligence operative Sergei Skripal. Their disagreements have already begun to spill over into other policy areas. The top U.S. diplomat for Syrian affairs
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