Ambassador Antonov called on the United States to continue dialogue on the resumption of START inspections

Russia calls on the United States to continue cooperation through diplomatic channels to resume inspections on a parity basis provided for by the START Treaty, informed Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov.

According to the ambassador’s statement, which was published by the press service of the embassy, ​​the United States froze “successfully advancing strategic consultations” in February, and is now setting conditions for Russia to restart them. This testifies to the neglect of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) by Washington.

“At the heart of the problems of resuming START inspections is the anti-Russian sanctions policy of the United States. It de facto blocks our country from carrying out inspections on American territory, ”Antonov said.

He called for the resolution of issues that hinder the issuance of transit visas for members of Russian inspection teams and flight crews. We are talking about the absence of “normal air communication” between the two countries and the closure of European airspace for Russian aircraft.

“Instead of misleading stuffing in the media, we call on the United States to continue cooperation through diplomatic channels in order to resume inspection activities as soon as possible on the parity basis provided for by the START,” Antonov stressed.

Russia temporarily withdrew its facilities from inspections under the START-3 treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on the evening of August 8. The reason was the US attempts to resume inspection activities with the actual deprivation of Moscow of the opportunity to conduct similar inspections at American facilities due to anti-Russian sanctions.

The White House spokesman said the United States remains committed to START, but noted that specific aspects of its implementation will be discussed with Russia through closed channels.

The Treaty on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START, or START-3) was concluded in 2010 for 10 years and extended for another five years in 2021 after the administration of President Joe Biden came to power. Now this is the last active arms control treaty between Russia and the United States, it provided for a reduction in the number of strategic weapons to 700 deployed (and 800 in total) carriers (submarines, intercontinental missiles and heavy bombers) and 1550 deployed warheads.

According to the agreement, the parties may conduct inspections of deployed carriers (submarine bases, missile silos and airfields – no more than 10 per year) and storage sites for non-deployed carriers, including factories for their production (up to eight per year). During the first 10 years of the agreement, the parties exchanged 328 inspections.