WASHINGTON

Russian former President Dmitry Medvedev blamed NATO countries Monday for Moscow's withdrawal from a moratorium on short- and medium-range nuclear missiles.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the withdrawal of the moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is the result of NATO countries’ anti-Russian policy.

"This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with. Expect further steps," Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said on X.

His remarks came after Russia's Foreign Ministry announced that Moscow "no longer considers itself bound" by its “previously adopted self-restrictions” under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

The 1987 pact required the US and the Soviet Union to eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,417 miles).

The US, during President Donald Trump's first term, withdrew from the treaty in 2019, citing Russian non-compliance, while Russia denied the allegations.

Moscow’s announcement Monday came after Trump last week ordered the deployment of two American nuclear submarines "close to Russia" in response to Medvedev, who has recently traded sharp exchanges on social media with the US president.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Medvedev said Monday that Russia is "very careful" about any statements related to nuclear issues and that Moscow is taking a "responsible position" in this regard.

"Russia is very attentive to the topic of nuclear non-proliferation. And of course, we believe that everyone should be very, very careful with nuclear rhetoric," Peskov told reporters.