Strategy for (Modestly Increasing the Chance of) Saving the INF Treaty

“It is very much in the U.S. national interest to make a concerted (if last minute) effort to preserve the treaty—by inducing Russia to come back into compliance—even if the odds of success are poor. What is needed now is a strategy—comprising diplomatic, economic and military components—to create three realities that Moscow cannot ignore. First, the costs associated with continued noncompliance will outweigh any benefits. Second, these costs will be removed if Russia comes back into compliance. Third, any solution will allow Moscow to save face.”

James Acton is the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This article proposes a detailed plan for mitigating the fallout of this complex and developing situation.

Read the full article, originally published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, here.