Political Quotes

“The Russians are cheating on the INF Treaty. That does not mean we should compound the first problem by creating a second problem. Don't make a bad situation worse. Our energy and focus should remain on diplomacy and multilateral efforts to bring Russia back into compliance with the INF Treaty. The INF Treaty, which was signed by President Reagan in 1987, established an agreement between the United States, Russia, and a number of other countries to not field ground-launched cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. This treaty was instrumental in arresting the arms race, defusing tensions, and ultimately, bringing an end to the Cold War. I find it very concerning that, due to the President's suspension of compliance in February, the INF Treaty will be officially null and void on August 2. This was all done without exhausting all diplomatic efforts and with limited congressional input. The conditions established in the treaty are crucial to European security. I find it disingenuous that the statement of administration policy on this bill implies NATO endorses the U.S. developing an intermediate- range cruise missile capability. The Brussels summit declaration by NATO heads of state and government in July 2018 stated that the INF Treaty has been crucial to Euro-Atlantic security and that we remain fully committed to the preservation of this landmark arms control treaty.…”