Congressman Lamborn's Statement on INF Withdrawal

Washington D.C. - The Trump Administration has made moves indicating the intent to withdrawal from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, both citing ongoing Russian violations of the treaty and signaling an acknowledgment of China's growing number of modern missile systems. Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05) issued the following statement:

"It is against the interests of the United States to bind ourselves to a treaty the other party continues to shamelessly violate. As Russia continues to ignore their obligations under the treaty, China-unconstrained by the INF-has exploited this U.S. capability gap as we unilaterally uphold this defunct treaty. Withdrawing from the INF will strengthen America's strategic posture and show agressive regimes and potential adversaries that we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of."

Russia has been found in violation of the INF Treaty as far back as 2008, while China, unconstrained by the INF, has exploited the United States' compliance with the treaty to foster a growing disparity between U.S. and PLA ballistic missile force structure in the Indo-Pacific region.