Moscow Suspends US Inspections of Russian Military Facilities

First modification: 08/08/2022 – 22:23

Russia announced on Monday it was suspending planned US inspections of its military facilities under the New START treaty, a key nuclear disarmament deal between the two powers, saying it was acting in response to US obstruction of similar Russian inspections in the United States.

Moscow “officially informed” the North American nation on Monday that all its facilities subject to inspections under the New START treaty would be “temporarily exempt,” Russian diplomacy said in a statement.

Among them are missile launch sites, as well as air and naval bases where nuclear missiles are deployed.

The announcement comes amid Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and at a time when President Vladimir Putin is constantly promoting new “invincible” weapons developed by Russia.

“The Russian Federation is forced to resort to this measure … due to existing realities that create unilateral advantages for the United States and deprive Russia of its right to conduct inspections on US territory,” the statement read.

The Russian diplomatic service cites, in particular, the obstacles to the movement of Russian inspectors and the difficulties related to the issuance of visas, caused by Western sanctions imposed on Moscow due to the Ukrainian conflict.

“US inspectors and their aircraft crews do not face similar difficulties,” alleges the letter shared by Kremlin sources.

The last such bilateral agreement between the two major nuclear powers

However, Russia “highly appreciates the unique role” of the treaty in the nuclear relationship between Moscow and Washington, he said.

Once problems with resuming inspections under the treaty have been resolved, Russia will “immediately” reverse its decision announced on Monday, Russian diplomacy said.

The New START treaty is the latest bilateral agreement of its kind between the world’s two leading nuclear powers.

Signed in 2010, it limits the arsenals of the two nuclear powers to a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads each, which represents a reduction of almost 30% compared to the previous limit set in 2002. It also limits the number of launchers and heavy bombers to 800, which is still enough to destroy the Earth multiple times.

In January 2021, Vladimir Putin extended it for five years, until 2026.

Until now, Moscow and Washington each had the right to conduct just under 20 mutual inspections a year under the treaty.

*With AFP; adapted from its original French version