Republicans insist on reviewing Russia’s compliance with the terms of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
The heads of three US Congress committees from the Republican Party have asked the US presidential administration to review whether Russia is complying with the terms of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, reports the Financial Times.
It was noted that the chairs of the House of Representatives committees on the armed forces, foreign affairs and intelligence asked for a decision by January 31, according to a letter obtained by the Financial Times and sent simultaneously to the Secretary of State namely Anthony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes.
“Russia is trying to use New Start inspections to scare the US and other countries from helping Ukraine. We cannot allow the US and NATO to be extortionists … and the first step is to expose these violations ,” said Senator Mike Rogers.
Congress’ concern stems from Russia’s decision last year to suspend START inspections and its subsequent refusal to participate in consultations required by the treaty to support its implementation. It also comes amid fears that Russia could use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as well as concerns about China’s rapidly growing nuclear arsenal.
“This comes at a dangerous time when Russia and China are expanding and modernizing their arsenals, Iran continues to expand its nuclear program, and North Korea is rattling its nuclear saber,” wrote the senators in the letter.
The United States and Russia agreed in 2021 to a five-year extension of the treaty, limiting both countries to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear weapons. Russia’s actions have sparked fears that Washington and Moscow could struggle to reach the next deal by 2026, leaving the world without nuclear arms control agreements.
In October 2022, the US and Russia exchanged information about strategic weapons.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.