The United States accuses Russia of violating the last functioning mutual disarmament treaty. Russia would not have allowed inspections of weaponry under the latest version of the Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Weapons (START).
In addition, according to the US State Department, Russia would have more strategic nuclear weapons than the limits set by the START treaty.
The House of Representatives asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to report whether Russia is violating the treaty. “Russia does not respect the obligation imposed on them by the New START treaty to allow inspections on the territory,” said a spokesman for the ministry.
Russia indefinitely postponed a meeting between US and Russian envoys as part of the inspections last November. The US would establish “a poisonous enmity” with Russia and so the Kremlin called off the meeting.
The last time the disarmament envoys discussed the application of the START treaty was in October 2021. At the beginning of that year, President Joe Biden extended the 2010 treaty by five years until 2026. At the signing of the new START treaty in 2010, the maximum number of nuclear warheads for each batch was set at 1550. That was 30 percent less than when the predecessor of the treaty was signed in 2002. The number of launch pads and heavy bombers is also limited to 800.
Last year, Moscow postponed a scheduled meeting in November between Russians and Americans about inspections under the treaty. The Russians accused Washington of “hostility” and “toxicity”. The last meeting under that treaty will take place in October 2021.
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