Russia retains New START stance apart from US data transfer decision
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Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister says the US is in violation of its obligations of sharing data with Moscow since it did not suspend its participation in the treaty.
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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov attends the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 2, 2023 (Reuters)
Russia's position regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) will "remain unchanged" regardless of the US position, Sputnik reported on Wednesday, citing Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
"We voluntarily assumed obligations to adhere to the central quantitative restrictions established by this treaty ... Our position does not depend on whether the Americans will transfer their data to us or not. It remains unchanged, which the American side has already been told several times," Ryabkov said.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Moscow's suspension of its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). However, Putin stressed that Russia is not withdrawing from the treaty, only suspending participation.
The Russian decision came in response to the US issuing an intolerable ultimatum to Russia on the New START treaty. Moscow must comply with the document's requirements, while Washington will do whatever it wants, said the Russian President then.
Read more: Moscow slams US remarks on suspension of New START as untenable
Earlier this week, the United States said that Russia's Defense Ministry told its counterparts on March 27 that Moscow will not be sharing semi-annual data with Washington as per New START obligations.
Following Russia's decision, the US announced that it will not be sending semi-annual data to Moscow, a breach of its treaty obligations as Washington did not suspend its participation, Ryabkov added.
Washington has to address and fix its violations of the treaty before criticizing Russia's position, he added.
Following up on Putin's decision, Russia's Foreign Ministry explained that this decision to suspend participation in New START comes in response to the US' increasing hostility toward Russia, via Ukraine, which effectively violates the treaty.
The increasing military support granted to Kiev by the US has changed the conditions under which the treaty was signed by creating a fundamentally different security environment for Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry statement said, adding that the US had violated the central provisions of the treaty accusing Washington of semantically hijacking the treaty by renaming strategic offensive weapons so they no longer fall under the provisions of the treaty.
