Washington, through its actions to withdraw from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (ADRM), is preparing the ground for the collapse of negotiations on the extension of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START III) This statement was made on December 7 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference following a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OSCE states.

“Yes, I saw a statement that if the INFMT ceases to exist, then START III will be a big question. It seems that the ground is simply being prepared so that this document will eventually collapse, ”said Lavrov.

Earlier, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Danford, announced the possibility of the White House refusing to renew START III.

“It’s very hard for me to imagine that progress can be made on extending the START III treaty if it is based on non-compliance with the INF Treaty,” the American military commander said at a conference in Washington.

Lavrov, commenting on the situation around the INF Treaty, stressed that the Russian side had submitted to the United States proposals for its resolution, including at the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Helsinki. Also, the arguments of Moscow were presented at the meeting of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry with the presidential adviser on national security John Bolton.

“Proposals to start a serious honest professional dialogue on the issues of the INF of the Strategic Arms Treaty, on the implementation of the START Treaty and a number of other proposals on how we should consider problems in the field of strategic stability. No response from the Americans has been reported. We periodically remind them of this, but they have one answer: “You must correct your mistakes, eliminate the violations that you commit,” Lavrov said.

The START III Treaty was signed in 2010 by the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, and Dmitry Medvedev, who was then the head of state. The document expires in 2021. It provides for the mutual reduction of nuclear charges to 1,550 units for each of the parties, and intercontinental launch vehicles, ballistic missiles for submarines and bomber aircraft to 700 units.

  • Sergey Lavrov
  • Reuters
  • © Alessandro Garofalo

During his speech, Sergey Lavrov also stressed that Washington did not provide any documents confirming the violation of the Moscow INF Treaty. The minister added that Russia is awaiting this data in order to continue a serious and professional conversation in this direction.

“We remind once again that when the United States several years ago started accusing us of violating the contract, they did it without any proof. From the United States, we had to literally tick off at least some information that would allow us to understand what they were talking about. As a result, they called a specific 9M729 missile, began to argue that it was tested on such a day at such a range for a distance prohibited by the agreement. Our data suggests the opposite: the rocket was tested at the document’s permitted range and under the conditions provided for the INF Treaty, ”the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier, US Deputy State Department for Arms Control and International Security, Andrea Thompson, made a statement in which she urged Russia to abandon the 9M729 missile or modify the flight range so that it does not violate the INF.

"Internal political crisis"

If the Americans withdraw from the INF Treaty, then the START III treaty will be in an extremely hovering state, says Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Military-Political Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada, Russian Academy of Sciences.

“If events develop according to such a scenario, the consequences will be extremely negative not only for the security of both Russia and the USA, but for international stability as a whole,” the expert said in a conversation with RT.

Batiuk added that Washington’s possible withdrawal from the INF and START-III will be a “strongest blow” to the nuclear non-proliferation system around the world.

“If superpowers behave this way, violate their obligations to limit and reduce nuclear weapons, then why should countries that have signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons observe it?” Many of them are threshold countries, dozens of states possess the necessary financial and technological resources to create their own nuclear potential, ”explained the expert.

Batiuk believes that the recent actions of Washington in the international arena were the result of the domestic political crisis in the United States.

“Those issues that were previously the object of bipartisan consensus, Republicans and Democrats, for example, issues of strategic stability, have become the object of interparty struggle. This is very bad both for the USA and for the whole world, ”added Batiuk.

  • Joseph dunford
  • AFP
  • © MARK WILSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA

The withdrawal from START-III will not give any advantages to either Washington or Moscow, and only worsen the situation globally, said Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, in an interview with RT.

“Russia's arguments are unlikely to be heard by the Americans. As President Vladimir Putin rightly pointed out, the budget laid down money for the development of missiles when the White House has not yet announced its withdrawal from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, ”he noted.

Historical background

Mikhailov believes that the process of Washington’s withdrawal from international agreements began in the early 2000s, when the United States unilaterally left the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Defense Systems (PRO).

“This step has broken all the consensus points reached at the end of the Cold War. The Americans are drawing themselves into an arms race, and unilaterally. Russia, having planned the state defense order until 2025, does not intend to allocate more money, ”Mikhailov explained.

According to him, Moscow and Washington are now in a state of "new cold war."

“Even without leaving the treaty, the US is doing what they want: testing new missiles, increasing their nuclear potential. There is no point in hoping that the American side will abide by international agreements. They have repeatedly violated them, left them unilaterally, ”said Mikhailov.

Political analyst believes that the administration of the Trump is advantageous to break any agreements, since they limit the possibilities of the US military-industrial complex. According to Mikhailov, Dunford’s statements on the possible withdrawal from START-III are also motivated.

“Dunford, as the representative of the department, who knocks money for a weapon, is as beneficial for anyone to create tension in order to achieve even greater funding,” the expert concluded.