Several reasons were named in Moscow.
Russia announced that it is stopping US inspections on the ground under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Washington, citing Western sanctions and coronavirus infections.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the facilities subject to inspections under of the new SNO contract, will be “temporarily” exempted from such inspections.
“Russia is now forced to resort to this measure as a result of Washington's persistent desire to unconditionally achieve the renewal of inspections on conditions that do not take into account existing realities,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, AFP reports.
Moscow also accused Washington of seeking ” create unilateral advantages” and deny Russia “the right to carry out inspections on American territory”.
The statement indicated that it has become difficult for Moscow to carry out inspections on American territory due to Western sanctions, including the closure of airspace to Russian aircraft and visa restrictions .
Moscow also pointed to a new spike in the number of coronavirus cases in the United States.
“We believe that in the current conditions, the parties should abandon deliberately counterproductive attempts to artificially force the renewal of inspection activities with the SNO and focus on a thorough study of all existing problems in this area,” the foreign policy agency said in a statement.
Last year, the United States and Russia extended the DSNO for the maximum allowed period of five years.
Moscow's statement was made after how US President Joe Biden called on Russia and China to demonstrate their commitment to limiting nuclear arms.
According to Biden, Russia should demonstrate its readiness to reactivate the nuclear arms reduction pact when it will expire in 2026.
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