Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) is urging the Trump administration to withdraw from a landmark arms control pact with Russia unless the Kremlin comes back into compliance with the treaty.
Cotton said Monday that President Vladimir Putin has determined he gains more than he loses by violating the commitments mandated under the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, making it imperative that the United States increase the costs of cheating on the accord.
The United States in February accused Russia of violating the 1987 treaty, which bans the testing, production, and possession of American and Russian land-based intermediate-range missiles, after Moscow deployed a prohibited cruise missile. The Obama administration first accused Russia of violating the treaty in 2014 when it tested the banned missiles, but Cotton said the former president never followed up “in any meaningful way.”
The Kremlin has denied any violations.
Originally published by the Free Beacon.
