The Russian government accuses the United States of provoking controls on nuclear weapons arsenals as part of the new START agreement. The US has announced an inspection, although it knows Russia will not allow it, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said today. Yesterday Russia announced that it would lift controls.
The government in Moscow justified this with travel restrictions that Western countries had imposed on Russian representatives after the invasion of Ukraine. This would restrict Russian possibilities for US controls.
Ryabkov criticizes the United States
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia believes the US wants to find a way to maintain mutual verification despite the difficulties imposed by the sanctions. This is not the case. The inspection now announced by the US is therefore an unreasonable and unnecessary escalation and provocation.
The new START treaty concluded in 2011 committed both superpowers to restrictions on ICBMs, submarine-launched missiles and fighter jets that can be armed with nuclear bombs. The contract ends in 2026.
A week ago, US President Joe Biden urged Russia and China to hold talks on gun control. His government is ready to negotiate a new framework agreement to replace the new START agreement. The government in Moscow must be ready to resume nuclear weapons control work with the United States, the US president said.