Russia suspends inspections stipulated in New START arms control treaty

The Russian government has notified the U.S. that it is temporarily withdrawing its own facilities from being subject to the inspections provided for by the New START arms control treaty, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said that the decision was made in response to Washington’s efforts to resume inspections under conditions that make it impossible for Russia to conduct inspections on American territories.

As a result of the one-sided, anti-Russian restriction measures between Russia and the U.S. that were implemented at Washington’s behest, regular air service has been disrupted, and the airspace of U.S. allies and partners is closed to the Russian planes that take Russian inspection groups to entry points on American territory. American inspectors face no analogous obstacles when coming to Russia.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also listed COVID-19 as a reason to suspend inspections, citing the “resumed rise in the U.S. infection rate.” The statement said that the health of Russian inspectors in the U.S. and American inspectors in Russia are a priority for the ministry.

The decision to suspend inspections does not violate the New START treaty and, according to the statement, is only a temporary measure. The ministry noted that the suspension will be overturned “after the resolution of the outstanding problems concerning the resumption of inspection activities.”

• The New START treaty between the U.S. and Russia limits the number of nuclear warheads each country can have to 1,550, and caps the number of ICBMs and other ballistic missiles each side can have at 700. The treaty was signed in 2010 and was extended by five years in 2021.
• The New START treaty allows Russia and the U.S. to inspect one another’s ballistic missile, submarine, and air bases. In 2020, these inspections were suspended due to the pandemic. As of May 2022, they have not yet resumed.
• The U.S. and the EU closed their airspace to Russian aircraft in early March 2022, soon after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.