❗️On August 8, 2022, the Russian Federation officially notified the United States, through diplomatic channels, of its decision to temporarily exempt the inspection activities from the facilities subject to inspection under the Treaty. This exemption includes the appropriate facilities at which exhibitions may be conducted under the Treaty.

🇷🇺🇺🇸 We hope to continue close cooperation with the American side. We have always advocated and continue to advocate a discussion on the resumption of inspection activities under the Treaty from a position of practical reality.

☝️ We would like to emphasise that the measures we have adopted are temporary. Russia is fully committed to the observance of the provisions of the Treaty, something we consider to be a very important instrument in maintaining international security and stability.

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#START #NewSTART

⚡️ Foreign Ministry statement in connection with the Russian Federation suspending the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (#NewSTART)

❗️ The Russian Federation found itself in a radically new security environment resulting from Washington’s extreme hostility and efforts to stir up confrontation, as well as its overt commitment to promoting a malicious escalation of the conflict in and around Ukraine.

The United States is now openly seeking to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia, while tensions encouraged by Washington go far beyond the Ukraine crisis with the United States and the US-led West trying to harm our country at every possible level, in every sphere and region of the world.

There is every reason to argue that the United States policy aims to undermine Russia’s national security, which directly contradicts the fundamental principles and understandings set forth in the New START’s preamble and forming its foundation. It would not have been signed without stating these principles.

This de facto amounts to a fundamental change of circumstances compared to those prevailing at the time of signing the New START Treaty.

In this situation, it is no longer possible to maintain business as usual with the United States and the West in general, both as a matter of principle and regarding arms control, which is inseparable from the geopolitical, military and strategic reality.

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⚠️ The fact that Western countries coalesced around the anti-Russia agenda increasingly impacts their nuclear policy, which constitutes a serious shift in the security landscape. In particular, NATO members have been carrying out the so-called Joint Nuclear Operations for decades, and designated the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as a “nuclear alliance” at a certain point, while also placing a bigger emphasis on nuclear weapons in NATO’s conceptual documents and stating their commitment to further strengthening and improving the combat readiness of the relevant capabilities that are under NATO control.

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Taking all these circumstances into account, Russia has come to the conclusion that the United States has seriously violated the New START Treaty and that this violation is of fundamental importance for the realisation of the treaty’s objective and goals.

The decision to suspend the New START Treaty can be reversed if Washington demonstrates the political will and takes honest efforts towards general de-escalation and the creation of conditions for resuming the comprehensive operation of the treaty and, consequently, its survival. This is exactly what we urge the American party to do.

☝️ Until then, any steps to accommodate Washington with regard to New START are absolutely out of the question.

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