U.S. to Tell Russia it is Leaving Landmark INF Treaty
David Sanger and William Broad | New York Times
The Trump administration is preparing to tell Russian leaders next week that it is planning to exit the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, in part to enable the United States to counter a Chinese arms buildup in the Pacific, according to American officials and foreign diplomats.
Russia Pledges ‘Balance’ if U.S. Quits Nuclear Pact; Trump Eyes More Weapons
Andrew Osborn, Maxim Rodionov, and Jeff Mason | Reuters
Russia said on Monday it would be forced to respond in kind to restore the military balance with the United States if President Donald Trump carried through on a threat to quit a nuclear arms treaty and began developing new missiles. But Moscow signaled it may be willing to give some ground, with a senior official telling Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, that Russia was ready to address U.S. concerns about how the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was being implemented.
Trump’s Missile Treaty Pullout Could Escalate Tensions with China
Phil Stewart | Reuters
A U.S. withdrawal from a Cold War-era nuclear arms treaty with Russia could give the Pentagon new options to counter Chinese missile advances but experts warn the ensuing arms race could greatly escalate tensions in the Asia-Pacific. U.S. officials have been warning for years that the United States was being put at a disadvantage by China’s development of increasingly sophisticated land-based missile forces, which the Pentagon could not match thanks to the U.S. treaty with Russia.
What Weapons will the U.S. Build After the INF Treaty?
Sydney Freedberg | Breaking Defense
If President Trump withdraws from Reagan’s INF accord, it could jump-start fielding of new technologies that would have skirted the letter of the treaty, like ground-launched hypersonics. But it could also lead to less exotic solutions that the INF pact now bans outright, like mid-ranged ballistic missiles.
EU Warns Trump of Nuclear Arms Race Risk After INF Withdrawal Move
Julian Borger and Andrew Roth | Guardian
The EU has warned Donald Trump about the risk of a new nuclear arms race after the US president announced that he was pulling out of a Reagan-era arms control treaty. John Bolton, Trump’s hawkish national security adviser who has lobbied for U.S. withdrawal from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, is in Moscow to discuss the treaty, which the US accuses Russia of violating with the development of a new ground-launched missile.
Nations Rush Ahead With Hypersonic Weapons Amid Arms Race Fear
Geoff Brumfiel | NPR
President Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, is in Moscow for a second day Tuesday, to discuss the U.S. intent to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The end of the 31-year old treaty is a sign that world powers may be returning to an arms race mentality. But it's not the only one. Over the past year the U.S., China and Russia have all stepped up efforts to develop a new kind of missile; a weapon that can fly faster and farther than almost anything in existence. Known as a hypersonic weapon, it would travel at five times the speed of sound or more. It could strike at a target while evading missile defenses and hit almost without warning deep inside enemy territory.