The Americans put their last October threat into action by deciding on Friday to withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

This treaty signed between the two opposing powers at the end of the Cold War prohibits the testing, production and deployment of any land-based missile with a range of 500 to 5 500 km with or without a nuclear charge.

But according to Washington Moscow does not respect its commitments, accused of testing a new missile, the 9M729, with a range greater than 500 km, which denies Moscow.

"Tomorrow the United States will suspend its obligations under the INF Treaty and launch the withdrawal process", which "will be completed in six months unless Russia meets its obligations by destroying all its missiles, launchers and equipment that violate the text, "said President Donald Trump in a statement.

But this withdrawal of the agreement is mainly motivated by the fact that China is not bound by this Russian-American bilateral treaty, enjoys a strategic advantage in Asia.

Its nuclear arsenal "is made up of missiles that are banned for Americans and Russians under the treaty," said Antoine Bondaz, a researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS).

This arsenal notably allows Beijing to threaten US bases in the Asia-Pacific region, from South Korea to Guam via Japan.

This questioning by the Americans of the INF weakens the architecture of disarmament developed since the Cold War

And "Europe is the great political loser of the withdrawal of a treaty which symbolized for the Europeans the end of the Cold War".