MOSCOW -- Tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Washington's withdrawal from a Cold War nuclear pact threaten to throw a wrench into Japan's efforts to sign a long-awaited postwar peace treaty with Moscow and settle their longtime island dispute.
The recent U.S. move to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, alleging violations by Moscow, drew sharp criticism from Russian President Vladimir Putin in his annual address to parliament last week.
