Moscow will continue to inform Washington about its launches, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said
Russia will continue to notify the United States of its ballistic missile launches despite Moscow’s suspension of its participation in the New START treaty, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.
Russia suspended its participation in the New START treaty – the last remaining nuclear deal with Washington – in February.
Explaining the move, President Vladimir Putin said the 2010 deal was signed under different circumstances, when Russia and the United States did not see each other as adversaries. The West has also rejected Russian requests to inspect nuclear facilities, even though this was allowed by the treaty, Putin claimed.
Speaking on Thursday about data sharing between Moscow and Washington, Ryabkov said that “All types of information exchanges, as well as other elements of verification activities under New START, have been suspended.”
However, he took note of Moscow’s announcement that he “adhere to the basic quantitative restrictions established in the New START Treaty and continue to implement the 1988 Agreement on the Exchange of Missile Launch Notifications.” Russia will “out of good will” Ryabkov added.
The New START treaty limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by Russia and the United States to 1,550. It also confines the two nations to 800 deployed and undeployed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, ballistic missile launchers launched by nuclear-capable submarines (SLBMs) and heavy bombers, as well as 700 ICBMs, SLBMs and strategic bombers equipped to carry nuclear weapons.
Ryabkov said that Russia had informed the United States of its decision to suspend its participation in the New START treaty in verbal and written form, but that Moscow had so far received no such notification from Washington.
That means the United States violated its commitments under the New START treaty when it refused to provide Moscow with a semi-annual nuclear stockpile report earlier this week, Ryabkov said.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that Washington is ready to continue to exchange information with Moscow in accordance with the New START treaty, but only on a reciprocal basis. “Since they [Russia] have refused to comply… we have also decided not to share this data”, said Kirby.
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