Russian Foreign Ministry: US violated START obligations by refusing to notify launches

Washington, having ceased to notify Moscow of missile launches, thereby violated its obligations under the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START), Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters.

Ryabkov noted that if the United States decided to suspend full or partial implementation of START by informing Russia of this either orally or in writing, then they would have the right not to transfer notifications of missile launches to Russia.

“But since they didn’t, we assume that by choosing not to share their data with us as part of the so-called semi-annual exchanges, they violated their obligation under the New START,” leads his words to RIA Novosti.

Russia, on the other hand, conveyed to the United States its decision to suspend participation in the START Treaty in the form of a Foreign Ministry note and orally, Ryabkov emphasized, commenting on the State Department’s statement about the absence of official messages from the Russian Federation on the suspension of all notifications under the START Treaty.

At the same time, Moscow will continue to notify Washington on a voluntary basis about ongoing missile launches under the 1988 agreement between the USSR and the United States, as well as adhere to the central quantitative restrictions on weapons established by the START, the diplomat added.

Law on Suspension of Russia’s Participation in START Russian President Vladimir Putin signed 28th of February. It followed from the document that the decision to resume the country’s participation in this treaty is made by the head of state. Putin announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in START on February 21 during his address to the Federal Assembly.

State Department considered suspension of Russia’s participation in START is legally invalid. They also called false accusations of the Russian Federation that the United States violated the central provisions of START. In particular, the upgraded SLBM launchers and heavy bombers that the United States withdrew from the START offset are no longer capable of using nuclear weapons, and the Russian side was granted the right to inspect these weapons. The procedures for withdrawing these weapons from the effect of START comply with the treaty, they added.

START III was concluded in 2010 for 10 years, it was extended for another five years in 2021 with the coming to power of the administration of US President Joe Biden. It is now the last arms control treaty between Russia and the United States in force. It provided for the reduction of strategic weapons to 700 deployed (and 800 in total) carriers (submarines, intercontinental missiles and heavy bombers) and 1,550 deployed warheads.