“We are faced with a scenario in which our American colleagues not only demonstrated their reluctance to heed our signals and take into account our priorities, but also acted in the opposite direction,” Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow.
Ryabkov said the United States was only seeking to resume inspections under the New START Treaty and blocked Moscow’s request to also talk about major points such as the quantity of weapons under the Strategic Arms Reduction Pact.
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The U. S. State Department said Monday that Moscow had to unilaterally postpone the Cairo talks and will propose new dates.
“The United States stands ready to postpone it as soon as imaginable because resuming inspections is a priority to maintain the treaty as a tool of stability,” the State Department said.
This week’s assembly of the Bilateral Consultative Commission established under New START would have been the first in more than a year. The timing of the talks was intended to show that Russia and the United States remained committed to weapons and keeping the lines of communication open despite emerging tensions over Ukraine.
Russia has protested against Western arms deliveries to Ukraine. Ryabkov said Ukraine had contributed to Moscow’s resolve to delay talks.
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“Naturally, events taking positions in and around Ukraine in this case have an effect on this,” he said. “Gun control and discussion in this realm cannot be immune to what’s going on around them, and the overall situation, which is quite confusing and largely worrying, has played a role. “
The New START Treaty, signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits the country to a maximum of 1550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The agreement provides for extensive on-site inspections to determine compliance.
Just days before the treaty expires in February 2021, Russia and the United States agreed to extend it for five years.
“unilateral benefits”.
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At the same time, Moscow said it “gives value” to New START and left the door open to resume inspections in the future.
While Russia and the United States have suspended mutual inspections under New START since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Moscow’s resolution has generated new uncertainty about the long-term pact.