WASHINGTON—A former United States Senator and two former US diplomats testified before the House Strategic Forces subcommittee on the implications of the United States’ impending withdrawal from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and prospects for an extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia on Feb. 26.
Former Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) called for the preservation of INF and New START. He argued that countering Russia is easier within the treaty than outside it, and that INF’s value resides not only in limiting weapons but verifying them, which requires the two sides to work together and thereby build confidence. “There is safety in transparency,” he said, while “drifting towards unrestrained arms competition would be an incredibly hazardous outcome.”
