Tensions between Russia and the United States, the world’s two largest nuclear powers, over the war in Ukraine escalated after Moscow announced it would suspend U. S. inspections of its nuclear arsenal under the New START nuclear weapons treaty.
In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it had informed Washington of its resolve to avoid U. S. inspections. He said Western sanctions had hampered visits to U. S. services. U. S. through Russian observers.
“The Russian Federation is obliged to avail itself of this measure because of Washington’s obstinacy in obtaining, without prior arrangement, the restoration of inspection activities in situations that do not take into account existing realities and create unilateral benefits for the United States and are de facto depriving the Russian Federation of the right to carry out inspections on Us territory,” Said.
The ministry explained that the ban on flights from Russia to the United States and allied countries and visa restrictions for transit countries prevented Russian inspectors from traveling to the United States, while U. S. inspections were ongoing.
The branch signaled a new increase in coronavirus cases in the United States.
“We have noticed the resumption of the rate of expansion of the occurrence of the disease in the United States, where more than 120,000 new cases of Covid-19 are recorded and between three hundred and 400 deaths each day,” he said. In this context, Russia’s most sensible priority is to maintain the suitability and protection of Russian inspectors and crews during any inspection on US territory. The same technique applies to American inspectors on the territory of the Russian Federation.
The Foreign Ministry under pressure that Moscow’s resolution to suspend cooperation with US inspectors was transitory as Russia was still determined to join the New START Treaty.
“Once issues similar to the resumption of inspections under the treaty are resolved, we will rescind without delay those exemptions from inspections and return to those activities in full,” he said. Moscow and Washington. “
The United States did not respond directly to the Russian statement, but said the resumption of inspections is important.
The deal, which limits long-range nuclear weapons, is seen as the only arms treaty between Washington and Moscow after Washington pulled out of two other such deals, adding the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, better known as the INF Treaty. Weapons inspections were interrupted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The United States intended to have a team of inspectors to resume on-site surveillance in the country.
The New START Treaty, aimed at preventing a new arms race, was first signed by former US President Barack Obama and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010, for ten years.
Under the treaty, the United States and Russia must respect strategic weapons limits, adding intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), heavy bombers supplied for nuclear weapons, as well as nuclear warheads on deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles. . , SLBMs deployed and deployed heavy bombers supplied for nuclear weapons. The list also includes deployed and undisposed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers, and heavy bombers supplied with nuclear weapons.