Washington: The Biden administration alleged on Tuesday that Russia’s refusal to allow on-the-ground inspections to resume is putting the New START nuclear treaty and US-Russian arms control at risk.
The findings were reported to Congress and summarized in a statement by the State Department. It follows months of more optimistic US assessments that the two countries would be able to salvage cooperation on limiting strategic nuclear weapons despite high tensions over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
In March 2020, inspections of US and Russian military sites under the New START treaty were halted by both sides due to the spread of the coronavirus. The US-Russia committee that oversees the treaty’s implementation last met in October 2021, but was then unilaterally suspended by Russia. Cooperate with the treaty’s inspection provisions in August 2022 to protest US support for Ukraine.
“Russia’s refusal to facilitate inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the viability of US-Russia nuclear arms control,” the State Department said Tuesday.
The administration also blamed Russia for the failure of the two countries to resume negotiations as required under the New START treaty.
Russia’s foreign ministry said last August that it had told the US it was temporarily suspending on-site inspections required under the treaty. It said US sanctions imposed over Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine had changed positions between the two countries and claimed the US was preventing Russians from conducting their own inspections of US sites.
The State Department on Tuesday denied that the US is blocking inspections by the Russians.
It asserted that US-Russia nuclear arms control efforts were essential to the security of the US, its allies, and the world at large.
“This is even more important in times of stress when guardrails and clarity matter most,” the State Department said. (AP)
