INF Treaty Crisis: Background and Next Steps

This article explains the background of the INF Treaty and its historical value in a direct and efficient manner taking the reader from the time it was created to the present situation with the U.S. and Russia announcements to leave the Treaty informally. It critiques the Trump Administration’s (re-)actions as well as the cause for those actions as done so by Russia. The article also explains in great detail how to approach the problems of compliance by Russia, what the U.S. next steps should be, and what other possible solutions there are to the current situation with tensions rising in Russia and the U.S.

SIGNIFICANCE:

With the recent announcements from the U.S. and Russia on their decisions to leave the INF Treaty, the international community is buzzing with questions and concerns. This article is important because it explains the historical and political weight that the INF Treaty has. The INF Treaty helped to end the Cold War and created a form of check system for destabilizing types of nuclear weapons. With the U.S. and Russia failing to implement this Treaty, it creates a global security problem. U.S. and Russia both help to set examples for the rest of the world and without their compliance, we could see many more countries formally withdrawing. We need to figure out a solution before this problem spirals out of control.