US-Russia nuclear treaty row escalates as US seeks to start withdrawal process

A meeting between Russia and the United States in Geneva failed to resolve long-running accusations that Moscow is violating a Cold War missile treaty, setting the stage for Washington to withdraw from the pact, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. The United States is now set to start the six-month process of quitting from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty on Feb. 2, U.S. Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson told reporters at NATO.

(With inputs from agencies.)