“The first step is to resume inspections under the current New START treaty, and we are trying to work with the Russians to that end,” a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in an email to Reuters, referring to the new strategy.
A US State Department spokesperson made a similar statement in a separate email.
What is the new “START”?
• It is the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that the two countries signed in 2010.
• Under the treaty, the United States and Russia committed to deploy no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads and 700 long-range missiles and bombers.
• The parties have fulfilled these commitments by the 2018 deadline.
• Each side can conduct up to 18 inspections each year of strategic nuclear weapons sites, to ensure that the other party adheres to the treaty’s limits.
Corona and other reasons
The two sides agreed in March 2020 to halt inspections of each other’s strategic nuclear weapons sites due to the Corona pandemic, and last year’s talks on resuming inspections failed to reach an agreement, amid tensions over Russia’s military attack on Ukraine that has moved relations to their lowest level since the Cold War.
Shortly after taking office last year, US President Joe Biden agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to extend the treaty, which was due to expire on February 5, 2021, for another five years.
Last August, Russia said that the sanctions imposed by Washington over the attack on Ukraine prevented its inspectors from obtaining visas to enter the United States, and prevented Russian planes from traveling to the United States.
The ball is in Washington’s court
A statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “there are no similar obstacles to the arrival of American inspectors to Russia,” adding that “the Russian Foreign Ministry raised this issue with the concerned countries, but it did not receive a response.”
Without responding directly to Russia’s allegations, a State Department spokesperson said, “Inspections have been suspended for reasons related to the coronavirus. Both sides can safely resume inspections, and the United States is ready to work with Russia in the New START Bilateral Advisory Committee to this end.”
Biden reiterated in a statement issued on the first of last August, that his administration is ready to negotiate an alternative to the “New START” treaty.
#Washington #requires #nuclear #arms #talks #Moscow