Last week saw the US pull out of the INF, a nuclear treaty between Russia and the US, that eliminated all nuclear and conventional missiles, as well as their launchers, with ranges of 500–1,000 kilometers (310–620 mi) (short-range) and 1,000–5,500 km (620–3,420 mi) (intermediate-range). The treaty did not cover sea-launched missiles.
The US cited Russian violations of the treaty as well as concerns that China is not a signatory to such a treaty and therefore allowed to develop and deploy such weapons at will.
The potential Russian violations of the INF has been a concern for the US going back to the Obama administration with President Trump openly wondering why, then President Obama did not either negotiate a better treaty or pull out.
A more balanced approach to both potential Russian violations and a lack of Chinese involvement, would be to threaten to pull out, unless Russian violations cease and a similar treaty with China is agreed upon and signed.
Unfortunately, this latest rift between Russia and the US only adds to the many grievances between the two countries, in addition to the tensions in Syria, the Russian hypersonic missile development and the expansion of NATO along Russian borders, all of which need to be effectively addressed to avoid a return to a more serious arms race or worse, a nuclear catastrophe.