MOSCOW: As part of a crucial arms control deal, Russia on Monday announced a halt to US inspections of its nuclear arsenal, claiming Western sanctions had prevented Russian monitors from making similar visits to US facilities.

It is the first time the Kremlin has suspended US inspections under the New START Nuclear Arms Control Treaty, and it comes as a result of escalating tensions between Moscow and Washington over Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, sanctions by the US and its allies on Russian flights, visa requirements and other barriers prevented Russian military experts from visiting US nuclear weapons sites, giving the US a "unilateral advantage" that prompted the US to suspend announced. Supervision

The move did not immediately elicit any public response from the Biden administration. Ankit Panda, an expert on nuclear policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, described the Russian crackdown on sanctions imposed by the West on Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine as "a cynical attempt to pressure the United States".

According to Panda, they are essentially using the new START inspections, which are important to the US, to put pressure on Washington.

Even though Moscow has closed its skies to the 27 members of the European Union, Britain and Canada - but not the US - since the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine in late February, Russia said US inspectors face such challenges. Haven't had to. At the time, Russia announced that the delivery of humanitarian aid and diplomatic missions would be exempt.

The freeze is temporary, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, and is permitted by agreement "in exceptional cases".

Russia attaches "extreme importance" to New START, it was noted, and it was also noted that inspections could resume when the issues preventing them could be resolved.

The ministry "emphasized the need for an in-depth study of all existing problems in this area, the successful resolution of which would lead to the early implementation of the full-scale application of all verification mechanisms of the treaty." "Russia is fully committed to complying with all provisions of New START, which we see as an important tool for maintaining international security and stability," the ministry said.

The ministry said that we will immediately remove the declared exemption from inspection activities after resolving the issues of inspection activities resumed under the treaty.

Each nation is limited to having no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear weapons and 700 deployed missiles and bombers under the new START treaty, which was signed in 2010 by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The treaty also calls for extensive on-site inspections to ensure compliance.

Russia and the United States decided to extend the new START for an additional five years, days before it expires in February 2021.

Security analyst Panda pointed out that the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, where the United States and Russia continue to debate strategic arms cuts, is taking place at the same time as Russia's action.

"It is essential that the inspection protocols in the treaty be fully restored at a time when nuclear risks between the two sides are far from being reduced," he said. The pandemic took a toll on the new START inspection activity, and Moscow's regrettable move jeopardized everything even more.

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