Russia claims that Washington “destroyed” arms control agreements

MOSCOW: After the US claims that Russia was violating their final remaining armaments accord, the New START treaty, the Kremlin accused Washington on Wednesday of destroyed arms control agreements

Before Russia dispatched soldiers to Ukraine in February of last year, tensions between the two nations were already at breaking point, but they have since further deteriorated.

While criticizing Russia for stopping inspections and calling off negotiations, the State Department made no mention of Moscow’s alleged over-expansion of nuclear warheads.

The continuation of this deal, according to us, is crucial, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov to reporters.

The legal structure in the areas of security and arms control, on the other hand, has been effectively demolished by the United States, he continued.

The Russian ambassador to the United States earlier on Wednesday stated that Moscow has been “irreproachably observing” the agreement and will keep doing so.

In a statement posted to the embassy’s Facebook page, ambassador Anatoly Antonov stated that “Washington bears whole responsibility for the escalation of the New START concerns.”

The New START pact, initially signed in 2010, limited the amount of strategic nuclear warheads, launchers, and heavy bombers that Russia and the United States might deploy.

After the Donald Trump administration tore up earlier arms control accords and had been unwilling to preserve New START in its current form, President Joe Biden quickly extended New START until 2026.

Early in August, Moscow declared that it was stopping US inspections of its military facilities under New START. It claimed to be in response to American interference in Russian inspections, a claim that Washington has refuted.

Russia indefinitely postponed the New START negotiations scheduled for November 29 in Cairo. They charged the US with acting with “toxicity and antagonism.”