Quit missile treaty with Russia

Trump makes it official: U.S. to quit missile treaty with Russia

By NAHAL TOOSI and NANCY COOK

The United States is suspending its participation in a key arms control agreement with Russia, and will leave the pact completely in six months, the Trump administration announced Friday.

The decision to abandon the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has raised concerns about a renewed arms race with Moscow. But it's not a surprise: The Trump administration has been signaling for months that it will walk away from the treaty, alleging that Russia has not met its obligations under the agreement for years.

"Countries must be held accountable when they break the rules," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a news conference. "Russia has jeopardized the United States’ security interests, and we can no longer be restricted by the treaty while Russia shamelessly violates it."

President Donald Trump, too, issued a warning to Russia that hinted at another concern: That China wants to take advantage of the existence of the treaty to surge ahead in its own missile capabilities.

"We cannot be the only country in the world unilaterally bound by this treaty, or any other," Trump said in a statement. "We will move forward with developing our own military response options and will work with NATO and our other allies and partners to deny Russia any military advantage from its unlawful conduct."

The landmark 1987 treaty required the United States and what was then the Soviet Union to "eliminate and permanently forswear all of their nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers," according to the Arms Control Association.

Trump and some of his top aides, including national security adviser John Bolton, have long expressed skepticism about international mechanisms that they feel unduly constrain the United States. Trump already has pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate change agreement.

But U.S. frustrations with the INF Treaty began well before Trump took office.

Since at least 2014, under the administration of President Barack Obama, the United States has accused Russia of violating its INF Treaty obligations, including one requiring it “not to possess, produce, or flight-test” a ground-launched cruise missile having a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers, according to the ACA.

The United States — backed by its NATO allies — has said Russia must eliminate its 9M729 cruise missile system to come back into compliance. Russian officials insist the missile system does not violate the treaty, and that the United States and Europe have not properly considered Moscow's proposals to save the pact.

Asked if the U.S. move would open the door to a new international arms race, a senior administration official dismissed that characterization and then shifted any blame for that potential outcome to Russia. The official stressed that China and Iran — each of which possess over 1,000 of this type of missiles — are not bound by the treaty as it currently stands.

“If there is an arms race, it is Russia that is starting it,” the senior administration official said. “We reject the assertion that it is the United States ... opening the door to an arms race.”

Senior administration officials added that the U.S. was not in a position to immediately deploy missiles. “It will take us time to make decisions about what kind of capability we will deploy and test. We are some time away from a flight test, or acquisition decision,” the officials added.

Trump administration officials had told Russia it had until Feb. 2 to return to compliance, saying that if that deadline is missed, the United States will begin the formal six-month withdrawal process.

Pompeo said the United States is still "hopeful" that Russia will change its posture and will continue to keep conversing with Moscow.