Russia announced on Monday the suspension of American inspections of its military facilities under the New Start Treaty, Reuters and AFP reported, cited by Agerpres. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it took this step in response to US obstruction of similar inspections by Russia of facilities in the United States.

“The Russian Federation is forced to resort to this measure (…) due to the existing realities, which create unilateral advantages for the United States and deprive Russia of its right to carry out inspections on American territory,” Russian diplomacy said in a statement.

The new SNO Treaty, concluded in 2011 and extended in 2021 for a five-year period until February 4, 2026, obliges the US and Russia to adhere to proven limits on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) and heavy rockets bombers equipped with nuclear weapons.

Specifically, the treaty limits the arsenals of Russia and the United States to a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads for each of the two countries, a reduction of nearly 30 percent from the previous limit set in 2002. It also limits the number of launchers and bombers to 800, which is still enough to destroy Earth several times over.

Read also:

• Putin signed an extension of the Russian-American treaty on nuclear disarmament “New Start”.
• The United States, in turn, confirms the continuation of the “New Start” disarmament treaty with Russia.

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