Russia Temporarily Notifies US of Suspension of Nuclear Facility Inspections... Nuclear Disarmament Talks Expected to Face Difficulties

First Inspection Halt Since New START Treaty Signing
"Used to Attract US Attention as a Means to Lift Sanctions on Russia"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russia has unilaterally notified that it will temporarily suspend inspections of nuclear weapon facilities conducted mutually under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). Amid concerns that the nuclear arms race between the two countries may intensify, experts point out that Russia is using the nuclear inspection issue as a diplomatic bargaining tool aimed at lifting Western sanctions against Russia.

On the 8th (local time), the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release, "We will temporarily suspend inspections conducted on related facilities under the New START agreement," adding, "This is because the U.S. has deprived Russia of the right to conduct inspections within the U.S. and unilaterally created a situation favorable to itself." This is the first time Russia has notified the suspension of nuclear inspections under the New START agreement.

Accordingly, there are concerns that the new nuclear disarmament negotiations proposed earlier by the U.S. to Russia will face difficulties. On the 1st, U.S. President Joe Biden, in a statement regarding the holding of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, said, "We are ready to quickly engage in new arms control negotiations to replace New START, which expires in 2026," urging Russia to engage in prompt dialogue.

The New START agreement, a nuclear disarmament treaty signed by the U.S. and Russia in 2010, aims to reduce the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550. The expiration date of the agreement was extended to February 2026 by mutual agreement in January last year, but subsequent negotiations have not taken place due to deteriorating relations between the two countries and the imposition of sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Experts point out that Russia intends to publicize the nuclear inspection issue to achieve the lifting of Western sanctions against it. Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Associated Press in an interview, "It is a cynical attempt to pressure the U.S. to lift Western sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine," adding, "It seems aimed less at overturning the agreement itself and more at attracting U.S. attention to initiate negotiations for sanction relief."