Russia on Wednesday accused the United States of destroying the legal framework of the New Start treaty on nuclear disarmament after Washington denounced Moscow’s refusal to honor its obligations.
A spokesman for the State Department on Tuesday complained that Russia was not fulfilling “its obligation under the News Start Treaty [novo começo] to facilitate inspection activities on its territory”.
“We see that the United States has effectively destroyed the legal framework for the control and security of nuclear weapons,” said Kremlin (Russian Presidency) spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday.
Faced with a “sad situation”, Peskov added that Russia “believes that the enforcement of this treaty is very important”, according to the French agency AFP.
The Russian ambassador in Washington, Anatoli Antonov, also regretted the actions of the United States, the newspaper saidif they undermine the purpose of the agreement, which is to “maintain the balance between the parties’ strategic offensive weapons”.
Washington refuses to see the root causes of the problem and blames others. Antonov said in a statement published on the social network Facebook.
Antonov said Russia “warned that arms control [nucleares] cannot be separated from geopolitical realities”.
“Under the current circumstances, we find it unjustified, inappropriate and inappropriate to invite the US military to our strategic facilities,” he added, referring to the war against Ukraine that Russia started nearly a year ago.
US diplomacy has criticized Moscow in recent weeks for suspending inspections and canceling talks on the treaty.
However, he did not accuse Russia of expanding its nuclear arsenal beyond the limits the two sides had agreed upon.
Last year, Russia announced the postponement of a meeting with the United States scheduled for late November over inspections under the treaty, accusing Washington of “hostility and toxicity”.
The last meeting of the bilateral advisory committee provided for in the treaty will take place in October 2021.
Relations between the two nuclear powers are at their lowest level since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The United States and its main allies have supported Ukraine financially and with arms shipments.
Russia has warned that the supply of arms to Ukraine will escalate the conflict, which could leave the country feeling in danger and needing to defend itself by all means, including nuclear weapons.
In a letter published last week, the heads of various committees of the US Congress said that Russia’s actions and statements “raising at least serious concerns about New Start’s compliance.”
Signed in 2010, the treaty limits the two countries’ arsenals to a maximum of 1,550 nuclear warheads from each side, a reduction of about 30% from the previous limit set in 2002.
It also fixes up to 800 the maximum number of launchpads and heavy bombers.
Shortly after his election in January 2021, US President Joe Biden extended the treaty for another five years, until 2026.
Source: DN
