Ayotte Statement on Russia's Violation of Arms Control Treaty

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte released the following statement regarding the submission of the annual arms control compliance report by the State Department, which confirms publicly that Russia violated the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty by testing ground-launched cruise missiles.

"While I'm glad the administration is finally publicly confronting Russia over its violations of the INF Treaty, where has the administration been?

"The administration knew about Russia's potential violations of the INF Treaty in 2010 when the Senate was considering ratifying New START, but the administration failed to fully inform Congress of these suspected violations, undoubtedly fearing that such a disclosure would prevent the Senate from ratifying New START.

"The administration's failure to fully press Russia on known treaty violations is another example of the concessions made under its failed reset policy, which has only served to further embolden Putin.

"It's time for the administration to issue even tougher sanctions against Moscow, provide weapons to the Ukrainian military, and further strengthen NATO's presence in Eastern Europe in response to Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and its ongoing interference with Ukrainian sovereignty, as well as Russia's violation of the INF treaty - which represents a flagrant disregard for their treaty obligations."

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