In response to increased security measures in support of eastern European countries in NATO, Russia will increase its military strength in Crimea and Kaliningrad. The implementation of the missile defense system in eastern Europe will push Russia to leave the INF Treaty. It seems that only a growing crisis in the field of arms control and the strengthening of threats to military security will push Russia to cooperate with the United States—just as it was in the 1960s.

Maxim Starchak is a consultant at the PIR Center (Russia) and a Fellow of the Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen’s University (Canada).

Image: Flickr/U.S. Air Force