MOSCOW (Reuters) –Amid the breakdown of arms control agreements, Russia has cautioned the United States against employing ultimatums and insisted that Moscow will only consider returning to a nuclear arms reduction treaty if Washington abandons its antagonistic stance. Both countries, being the largest nuclear powers, have expressed remorse over the disintegration of various arms control treaties, which were aimed at slowing the arms race during the Cold War era and reducing the risk of nuclear conflict.
In the wake of the Ukraine conflict, President Vladimir Putin announced in February that Russia would suspend its participation in the New START treaty, a 2010 agreement that imposes limits on the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads for both Russia and the United States.
As a response to what it perceives as Moscow’s ongoing violations of the accord, the United States declared this week that it would halt certain notifications required under the treaty, including updates on missile and launcher locations, as a retaliatory measure.
Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s representative for arms control and Deputy Foreign Minister, revealed that Washington had informed Moscow about this decision before making it public, minimizing any element of surprise. Ryabkov emphasized the significance of improved relations between the two nations as a prerequisite for progress in nuclear arms reduction discussions.
Ryabkov said the arms control pillar was crumbling because of hostile US policies and was in a “half-lethal” state.
“Talking to the Russian Federation in ultimatum terms just doesn’t work,” Ryabkov told three major Russian news agencies.
“U.S. negligence resulted in the complete destruction or semi-fatal condition of many elements of early architecture in the region.”
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Friday that the U.S. is willing to begin talks with Russia over a strategic arms control agreement to replace the New START when it expires in 2026.
Ryabkov said Russia would later provide a detailed assessment of Sullivan’s comments.
After the fear of nuclear war was sparked in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the United States and the Soviet Union formed a patchwork of arms control agreements to help the two sides better understand each other’s weapons and procured capabilities. tried to slow down the arms race.
Russia and Washington still control about 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenal, but cut their numbers when the Soviet Union collapsed.
The New START Treaty, signed in 2011, promised the United States and Russia to limit the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and nuclear-armed heavy bombers.
Restrictions were also imposed on the use of nuclear warheads in deployed missiles and bombers, as well as the launchers for those missiles.
“Our decision to suspend the START treaty is unwavering,” TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying “Our own condition for returning to a fully functioning treaty is for the United States to abandon its fundamental hostile stance toward Russia.”
Ryabkov said the US appeared prepared to comply with the 1998 Ballistic Missile Notification Agreement.
“Therefore, there will remain some transparency and predictability in this area to avoid further dangerous tightening.”
