Expert Urges Transparency on Alleged Russian Arms-Treaty Violations

One U.S. issue expert is pushing the State Department to report openly on an alleged Russian violation of a treaty banning intermediate-range missiles.

"State should make very clear what it is the Russians have done, how Washington views that compliance, and whatever excuses the Russians are offering," Jeffrey Lewis, an analyst at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, wrote in a Friday analysis for Foreign Policy.

At issue are allegations that Moscow has violated -- or at least circumvented -- the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The 1987 accord prohibits the two nuclear superpowers from testing or deploying any cruise or ballistic missile with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles.