MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will continue to give the United States advance notice of its missile tests despite the suspension of the latest nuclear arms treaty between the two countries, a senior Russian diplomat said on Thursday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei RyabkovThe statement follows his comments on Wednesday, when he said Moscow had halted all information exchanges with Washington envisioned under the 2011 New START nuclear pact, including warnings of missile tests.
On Thursday, he clarified that Russia intended to honor its promise last month to continue to notify the United States of missile tests in accordance with a 1988 US-Soviet agreement, Ryabkov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended the country’s participation in the New START treaty last month, saying Russia could not allow US inspections of its nuclear sites at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have openly said that the defeat of Moscow in Ukraine was their objective.
Moscow stressed at the time that it was not withdrawing from the pact completely and that it would continue to respect the nuclear arms caps set by the treaty.
Earlier this week, the United States announced that Moscow and Washington had stopped sharing semi-annual nuclear weapons data, as planned by New START. US officials said Washington offered to continue providing the information after Cheese fries suspended Russia’s participation, but Moscow told Washington it would not share its own data.
The end of information sharing under the pact marked yet another attempt by the Kremlin to discourage the West from stepping up support for Ukraine by pointing the finger at Russia’s massive nuclear arsenal. Last weekend, Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Moscow’s ally, Belarus.
Along with data on the current status of countries’ nuclear forces regularly released every six months, parties to the New START treaty have also exchanged advance warnings about test launches and deployments of their nuclear weapons.
These advisories have been a vital part of strategic stability for decades, allowing Russia and the United States to correctly interpret each other’s movements and ensure that neither country confuses a launch. test with a missile attack.
Ryabkov did not say whether the 1988 US-Soviet agreement would cover all missile tests for which Russia was obligated to issue notices under New START.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei RyabkovThe statement follows his comments on Wednesday, when he said Moscow had halted all information exchanges with Washington envisioned under the 2011 New START nuclear pact, including warnings of missile tests.
On Thursday, he clarified that Russia intended to honor its promise last month to continue to notify the United States of missile tests in accordance with a 1988 US-Soviet agreement, Ryabkov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended the country’s participation in the New START treaty last month, saying Russia could not allow US inspections of its nuclear sites at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have openly said that the defeat of Moscow in Ukraine was their objective.
Moscow stressed at the time that it was not withdrawing from the pact completely and that it would continue to respect the nuclear arms caps set by the treaty.
Earlier this week, the United States announced that Moscow and Washington had stopped sharing semi-annual nuclear weapons data, as planned by New START. US officials said Washington offered to continue providing the information after Cheese fries suspended Russia’s participation, but Moscow told Washington it would not share its own data.
The end of information sharing under the pact marked yet another attempt by the Kremlin to discourage the West from stepping up support for Ukraine by pointing the finger at Russia’s massive nuclear arsenal. Last weekend, Putin announced the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Moscow’s ally, Belarus.
Along with data on the current status of countries’ nuclear forces regularly released every six months, parties to the New START treaty have also exchanged advance warnings about test launches and deployments of their nuclear weapons.
These advisories have been a vital part of strategic stability for decades, allowing Russia and the United States to correctly interpret each other’s movements and ensure that neither country confuses a launch. test with a missile attack.
Ryabkov did not say whether the 1988 US-Soviet agreement would cover all missile tests for which Russia was obligated to issue notices under New START.
