Russia has a “clear path” to return to compliance with the agreement by allowing inspection activities, Washington said.
Russia violated the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START) by refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory. This was stated in an email from the US State Department sent to Congress, the Voice of America reports.
“Russia’s refusal to cooperate in inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the possibility of US-Russian nuclear arms control,” a State Department spokesman said in a statement. a letter released on Tuesday.
In August, Moscow reportedly suspended cooperation on inspections under the agreement, blaming travel restrictions imposed by Washington and its allies after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, but said it remained committed to compliance. to the provisions of the agreement. .
The State Department spokesman added that Russia has a “clear path” to return to compliance with the agreement by allowing inspection activities, and that Washington remains ready to work with Russia to fully implement the agreement.
“New START remains in the national security interest of the United States,” a State Department spokesman said.
Recall that in November, negotiations between Moscow and Washington on the continuation of inspections under the New START Treaty were held in Egypt, but Russia postponed them, and a new date was not set.
shortened the contractStrategic Offensive Arms Forces (START) is the only remaining element of the former comprehensive system of arms control agreements between the United States and Russia. This agreement also limits the number of strategic nuclear weapons, such as long-range missiles.
Under START, each country can have no more than 800 nuclear weapons carriers and no more than 1,550 warheads. In February 2021, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin extended the agreement until 2026.
START provides regular inspections of each other’s bases of intercontinental ballistic missiles, bases strategic submarines and strategic aviation air bases, as well as loading, storage, repair and testing grounds. From 2011 to 2020, the parties conducted 328 such reviews. From 2020, they – by mutual agreement – will not be held due to the pandemic.
It will be remembered that in October 2022, the United States and Russia exchanged data on the number of strategic offensive weapons of the two countries under the START Treaty.
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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.