Russian political scientist: Trump is unwilling to renew the INF Treaty without China's participation

Andrei Kortunov, a Russian expert on US issues and political scientist, stated at a roundtable meeting in Moscow that missile nuclear weapons control was never a priority for the Trump administration, and the government only considered the possibility of restoring the INF Treaty if China participated.

The United States withdrew from the INF Treaty in 2019. That same year, Russia suspended its obligations under the treaty. On August 4, 2025, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russia formally abandoned its obligations under the INF Treaty.

Kortunov said, "For Trump, strategic arms control, especially within a bilateral framework, was not a priority. This became evident during his first term, when the US withdrew from the INF Treaty and effectively froze work on extending the New START Treaty. The US may be interested in resuming mechanisms related to intermediate and short-range missiles, but obviously, the condition is China's participation in such negotiations."

At the same time, Kortunov pointed out that China will not join the INF Treaty because intermediate and short-range missiles are an important part of China's strategic potential.

Kortunov emphasized, "China will almost certainly not join such negotiations in the foreseeable future, because if we return to the issue of eliminating such systems, it would actually amount to nuclear disarmament for China, although not complete nuclear disarmament, but very close to it. Obviously, China will not agree."

The INF Treaty was signed by Soviet President Gorbachev and US President Reagan in 1987. According to the treaty, the US and the Soviet Union were required to destroy all land-based intermediate (1,000-5,500 km) and intermediate-range (500-1,000 km) ballistic and cruise missile systems within three years, and commit to not producing, testing, or deploying such missiles in the future.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1839824491672588/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.