Russia, US Working to Facilitate Inspections Resumption Under New START Treaty - Embassy

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow and Washington are working on removing obstacles to resuming inspections under the New START arms control treaty, with some issues already resolved, the Russian Embassy in the United States said on Saturday.

"The inspection activities under the New START Treaty have indeed been suspended since the early 2020 by mutual agreement due to COVID-19 pandemic. We are working closely with our American colleagues within the framework of the New START Bilateral Consultative Commission to remove organizational and technical obstacles to resume inspections. Some issues have been resolved but by no means all of them," the embassy said in a comment to the Newsweek media outlet on the current situation on arms control.

It also said that the treaty expires in 3.5 years and that the remaining time to work out an agreement is "extremely short."

"Any interaction on arms control matters must be conducted on an equal basis, with due consideration for mutual concerns and interests," the embassy added.

At the same time, the United States has not made any concrete proposals to Russia on resuming the strategic stability dialogue, the Russian embassy said.

"Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden reaffirmed their countries’ commitment to the New START in the August 1 messages to the participants of the 10th NPT Review Conference. The US president stated that the administration was ready to expeditiously negotiate a new arms control framework. However we have received no concrete proposals from Washington on the resumption of the bilateral dialogue on strategic stability," the embassy said.

Earlier this week, a Defense Department spokesperson told Sputnik that there was no information available about a potential meeting between US and Russian officials on discussing the possibility of resuming talks on a new arms control framework.

On Thursday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the United States was prepared to begin negotiating a new arms control framework with Russia once the New START Treaty expires - if Moscow is willing to engage. Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said earlier this week that he expected to meet with US State and Defense department officials soon to discuss arms control between the two countries.

Antonov said he is convinced that without a serious conversation between the United States and Russia, the world will lose the international peace and order. The New START today is the "gold standard" in the field of arms control and it must be maintained, he added.

The New START, which is an arms reduction treaty between Russia and the United States, is set to expire in February 2026.