Signed on 8 December 1987, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty called for the dismantling of 1,752 American missiles and 859 Soviet missiles. These weapons had a range of 300- to 3400-miles. INF negotiations began in 1980. The talks lasted 6 years and were often halted and bitter. Finally, the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, accepted the demand for elimination of all land-based intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The Soviets also agreed to the elimination of shorter-range ballistic missiles and periodic on-site verification of such elimination.
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Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=3853, accessed 26 November 2024.]