Obama administration ignores Russian nuclear violations

Feb. 13, 2014: Russian President Vladimir Putin listens during a meeting with Egyptian Defense Minister Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. (AP/RIA Novosti/Presidential Press Service)

Russia is covertly developing and testing nuclear missiles in violation of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the Obama administration to date has failed to hold Moscow accountable, according to arms control specialists.

“The Russians have basically violated every major treaty they’ve ever entered into, certainly every major weapons treaty,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. He is also a leader of a Senate arms control group.

The comments were made at a panel discussion Tuesday at the Heritage Foundation on Russian violations of the INF treaty.

The Free Beacon first reported in October that a Russian test of a new missile, the RS-26, violated the INF treaty. The accord prohibits ballistic missiles with ranges of 3,415 miles or less, and cruise missiles with ranges less than 310 miles.

Last month, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration notified NATO allies that Russia’s new R-500 cruise missiles violated the accord.

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