WASHINGTON (AFP) – Russia’s refusal to resume on-site inspections jeopardizes the New START nuclear treaty and US-Russia arms control as a whole, the Biden administration said on Tuesday.
The findings were submitted to Congress and documented in a State Department statement. Despite heightened tensions over Russia’s war in Ukraine, US assessments that the two sides could restore cooperation to limit strategic nuclear weapons have become more hopeful for months.
In March 2020, inspections of US and Russian military installations under the Novel START Treaty were suspended by both sides due to the spread of the coronavirus. The U.S.-Russian commission overseeing the implementation of the treaty last met in October 2021, but Russia announced in August 2022 that it would not cooperate with the treaty’s inspection clause in protest of U.S. support for Ukraine. stopped unilaterally.
“Russia’s refusal to facilitate inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the continued existence of U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control,” the State Department said on Tuesday.
The government also accused Russia of failing to resume the negotiations required under the New START Treaty.
Russia’s foreign ministry announced in August that it had notified the United States of a temporary suspension of on-site inspections required by the treaty. U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 changed the situation between the two countries, saying the U.S. prevented Russia from independently inspecting U.S. facilities.
The State Department on Tuesday denied that the United States would block Russian inspections. He argued that U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control efforts are essential to the security of the United States, its allies, and the world at large.
“In times of tension, when guardrails and clarity are of utmost importance, it is all the more important,” the State Department said.
