October 19, 2018

Bolton readies Moscow visit amid U.S. concerns about missile treaty

Featuring Eric Sayers

Source: Reuters

Journalist Steve Holland

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, will visit Moscow next week for talks that may include telling Russian officials that the United States plans to withdraw from the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

While Bolton will discuss other major topics with Russian officials, including North Korea, Ukraine and Syria, the 1987 accord between the United States and the former Soviet Union is also expected to come up.

The INF treaty, negotiated by then-President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1988, required elimination of short-range and intermediate-range nuclear and conventional missiles by both countries.

The United States believes Russia is in violation of the accord. The New York Times said Bolton would tell Moscow that Washington planned to withdraw from the treaty. White House officials did not deny the report.

Read the full article and more in Reuters.

Authors

  • Eric Sayers

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Defense Program

    Eric Sayers is a Senior Adjunct Fellow for the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Throughout his career, Mr. Sayers has worked on a wide varie...