House GOP Challenges Administration Response to ‘Russian Arms Control Cheating’

Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has prompted the Joint Chiefs of Staff to commission a military assessment of hypothetical threats posed by any Russian deployment of a ground-launched cruise missile in Europe or the Asia-Pacific region, while House Republicans yesterday pressed the Administration to provide a clear timeline and outline specific actions to ensure future Russian arms control compliance. Members of the House’s Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, met Dec. 10 for a hearing on “Russian Arms Control Cheating and the Administration’s Responses,” and listened to testimony from Brian McKeon, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Rose Gottemoeller, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.

 

Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) challenged the Administration’s response to the violations, telling Gottemoeller that Russia has faced no consequences for its violation. He added he would be “much more reassured” if the Administration set a specific deadline for Russia to resume compliance. McKeon and Gottemoeller both said the current approach toward Russia involves appealing to Moscow about the treaty’s value in terms of mutual transparency and upholding international law. If that approach fails, they said, the next option would aim at preventing Russia from gaining military benefit through arms control violations. The two officials declined to further elaborate, offering to provide more details in closed session.

 

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade, said a diplomatic approach would be preferable, but expressed concerns about the time it could take to bring Russia back into compliance with the INF Treaty. “Timing…also is a factor, because some of the things are occurring while we’re talking, and that’s a concern,” Perry said. “And I’m concerned that we’re counting on [Russia] to be the good actors when they have a story and a longstanding history of violating and lying and obfuscating, and it concerns me that it just will continue to go on.”