As the State Department released its annual compliance report yesterday, accusing Russia of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, Congressional lawmakers urged the Administration to take action against Moscow. “We must take action to hold Russia accountable and bring Russia back into compliance with the treaty,” Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, said in a statement. “This finding also highlights the importance of effective verification measures to ensure that cheating can be detected in a timely manner.”
The findings in the compliance report, which were first revealed Monday, contain few details about the actual violations, which center on the R-500 ground-based cruise missile. The cruise missile violates the 1987 INF Treaty, which prohibits missiles with ranges of 300 to 4,000 miles. The report notes that the U.S. raised concerns with Russia on “repeated occasions” in 2013 “in an effort to resolve U.S. concerns.” It says that the “United States will continue to pursue resolution of U.S. concerns with Russia.” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki echoed the report. “We encourage Russia to return to compliance with its obligations under the treaty and to eliminate any prohibited items in a verifiable manner,” Psaki said.
Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee criticized the Obama Administration for delaying the release of the compliance report, which was due in April. “Only after almost two years of the Congress pushing him has the president finally said what was plain to see: Russia is cheating on its agreements with the United States, putting the United States and its allies in East Asia and Europe at risk,” said House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said. Language drafted by Rogers in the FY 2015 Defense Authorization Act calls for Russia to get rid of the missiles in violation of the treaty. “Instead of holding Russia accountable, the president closed his eyes, made excuses, and–through his inaction–encouraged Putin to drag us into a second cold war,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) said in a statement. “With the world sliding further in chaos, we must ask the obvious question. What other truths is the President not facing?”