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| An intercontinental ballistic missile lifts off from a silo somewhere Russia. |
Moscow - The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the temporary withdrawal of the Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Weapons, commonly known as the New START treaty, which limits nuclear weapons.
Russia said it had to temporarily suspend inspections due to difficulties caused by Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine, which have made it difficult for inspection teams to obtain visas and travel by air.
"Our goal is to eliminate such unacceptable situations and ensure that all START mechanisms operate strictly in accordance with the principles of parity and equality of the parties, as implied when they were agreed and entered into force," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. statement.
Thus, as a result of the unilateral anti-Russian restrictive measures taken at the suggestion of Washington, normal air traffic between Russia and the United States was disrupted, and the airspace of countries that were allies and partners of the United States was closed to Russian aircraft delivering inspection teams. Russia to the point of entry on American territory.
Signed in 2010, the treaty is an update to the START I treaty, signed in 1991. The New START treaty stipulates that Russia and the US should reduce their nuclear warhead and ballistic missile capabilities and allow inspections of ballistic missiles, submarines, and air bases. one another.
Issues related to COVID-19 were also cited as the reason for the temporary withdrawal. Inspections were stopped in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and have not resumed, according to Meduza. However, Russia stressed that it wanted to resume inspections when the issues mentioned were resolved and the withdrawal was only a temporary measure.
According to Russia's TASS news agency, President Vladimir Putin warned last week that nuclear war should not be waged, because it does not produce a victor. In the same speech, he said Russia remains committed to nuclear weapons reduction and control.