WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Representatives Mike Rogers, R-Ala., Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statement in response to Russia’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe and the United States’ subsequent decision to “suspend” its participation in the treaty:

“Russia’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) is just another example of Vladimir Putin’s efforts to tear down the European security architecture that has existed since the Cold War ended. Putin clearly has no intention of stopping until Russia dominates its neighbors from the Black Sea to the Baltic.

“While we welcome the Biden administration’s decision to stop providing Russia with valuable information on U.S. military forces, this move is too little, too late. The administration’s response has been nothing but a superficial half-measure. As the recent Strategic Posture Commission report suggests, it is time for the U.S. to take bold, decisive action to deter China, Russia, and North Korea. That means restoring economic competitiveness and building up a military capable of meeting modern threats without delay.”