Joint Subcommittee Hearing Next Week to Examine Russia’s “Cheating” on Arms Control

The House Armed Services Committee on Dec. 3 announced a joint subcommittee hearing next week examining arms control “cheating” by Russia and Obama Administration responses. The HASC Subcommittee on Strategic Forces and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade within the House Foreign Affairs Committee will meet on Dec. 10 to hear testimony from Rose Gottemoeller, Under Secretary of State for International Security, and Brian McKeon, Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Bilateral disarmament negotiations have skidded as tensions surrounding the annexation of Crimea and occupation of eastern Ukraine have increased. The State Department last summer accused Russia of abrogating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987, which bans missiles capable of hitting targets between 500 and 5,500 kilometers away. Last month, Russia announced plans to boycott the 2016 nuclear summit to be hosted by the U.S.