US, Russia stop sharing nuclear weapons data under New START treaty
1 min read 29 Mar 2023, 05:58 AM ISTIn February, Russia formally suspended its participation in the New START treaty.
PremiumThe United States and Russia have stopped sharing biannual nuclear weapons data under the faltering New START treaty, the last arms control pact between the two countries, said US officials on Tuesday.
Officials at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department said the US had offered to continue providing this information to Russia even after Russia suspended its participation in the treaty last month, but Moscow informed Washington that it would not be sharing its own data, according to The Associated Press.
Speaking to media persons, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said, “Because of Russia's noncompliance with these obligations under the treaty, the United States will not provide its biannual data exchange to Russia either, in order to encourage Russia to return to compliance with the treaty."
Previously, the White House accused Russia of multiple violations of the treaty. Now, it has said that Russia's refusal to comply is ‘legally invalid’ and the decision to withhold the nuclear data is yet another violation.
Despite being extended shortly after US President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, New START has been severely tested by Russia's war in Ukraine.
It has been on life support for more than a month since Putin announced Russia would no longer comply with its requirements, AP reported.
New START treaty, which then-Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed in 2010, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The agreement envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.
The inspections have been dormant since 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In November 2022, discussions on resuming them were supposed to have taken place, but Russia abruptly called them off, citing US support for war-hit Ukraine.
In February, Russia formally suspended its participation in the treaty.
(With AP inputs)
