Russia has violated the New START treaty cutting long-range nuclear arms by refusing to allow on-site inspections and rebuffing Washington’s requests to meet to discuss its compliance concerns, the U.S. State Department said in a report sent to Congress on Tuesday. The lack of inspections has also made it harder to verify the number of warheads Russia has deployed under the accord, the State Department added. The finding comes amid concerns that the sharp tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may endanger prospects of cooperating on arms control and negotiating a follow-on agreement that would take effect after the New START treaty expires in 2026. The Biden administration is eager to preserve the New START treaty, which is the last major agreement regulating the nuclear competition between the two sides, and is pressing Russia to correct the violations. “There is a clear path to re-compliance here, and we continue to strongly value the treaty,” said a senior State Department official.

Source: Wall Street Journal February 05, 2023 01:09 UTC