The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that the United States exceeded the number of weapons permitted by the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START III).

This is stated in a message on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

It is noted that the American side has transferred four silo launchers intended for training to the category not provided for by the agreement and refuses to "include them under the Treaty" as the corresponding undeployed installations of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

“Thus, the figure allowed in accordance with subparagraph c) of paragraph 1 of Article II of the Treaty is exceeded by the United States by 101 units,” the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that the United States unilaterally removed 56 Trident II SLBM launchers and 41 B-52H heavy bomber "from the Treaty".

"Their re-equipment was carried out in such a way that the Russian side cannot confirm that these strategic offensive weapons have been rendered unsuitable for the use of nuclear weapons, as provided for in paragraph 3 of Section I of Chapter III of the Protocol to the Treaty," the Russian foreign ministry emphasizes.

In addition, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided data on the total number of strategic offensive weapons under START III.

So, as of early March, the Russian Federation possesses 517 units of deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), deployed submarine ballistic missiles (SLBMs), as well as deployed heavy bombers (TB), the United States has 651 units.

Also, Russia has 1,456 nuclear warheads located on these types of weapons or counted for deployed TB, the United States has 1,357 such.

In addition, the Russian side possesses 767 units of deployed and non-deployed launchers of ICBMs and SLBMs, as well as deployed and non-deployed heavy bombers.

The American side has 800 such units.

  • Russian Foreign Ministry

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Konstantin Kokoshkin / Global Look Press

History of the issue

Recall that the Treaty between Russia and the United States on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms (START III) was concluded in Prague on April 8, 2010 and entered into force on February 5, 2011.

As the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized at the end of April this year, START III "was developed on a strictly parity basis in accordance with the principle of equal and indivisible security."

"The treaty provides for real, verifiable and irreversible reductions in strategic offensive arms," ​​the department noted.

It was clarified that "as a result of such reductions, the total amount of strategic offensive weapons available to the parties seven years after the entry into force of the Treaty and in the future should not exceed" 700 units for deployed ICBMs, SLBMs and heavy bombers, 1550 units for warheads on these types of weapons, as well as 800 units for deployed and non-deployed launchers of ICBMs, SLBMs and heavy bombers.

“Thus, Russia and the United States are reducing warheads by a third (the ceiling under the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty is 2,200 units) and strategic delivery vehicles more than halved (the ceiling under the 1991 START Treaty is 1,600 units) ", - the message says.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added that the document stipulates that Moscow and Washington have the right to "independently determine the composition and structure of their strategic offensive weapons," but the basing of strategic offensive weapons "outside the national territory" is prohibited.

At the beginning of this year, the parties extended the Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms after lengthy consultations and negotiations.

The agreement on the prolongation of START III for five years entered into force on February 3.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation specified earlier, "the agreement will operate in the form as it was signed, without any changes or additions."

The ministry also stressed that the extension of the agreement ensured "the preservation and further functioning of the core mechanism for maintaining strategic stability" and international security.

"Found inconsistencies"

As military expert Alexei Leonkov noted in an interview with RT, the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry that the United States exceeded the indicators laid down in START III was made on the basis of official notifications of the parties, which are provided for by the treaty.

“Moscow in this case informs about deviations based on objective data,” he said.

Military expert Ivan Konovalov, in a conversation with RT, said, in turn, that the excess by the Americans of the indicators laid down in START III by 101 units is "a serious figure."

“The Russian side has found inconsistencies, which is an important factor for Russian-American relations.

Washington will need to either justify all these discrepancies or correct them.

In addition, the situation around the unilateral de-scoring by agreement of Trident II SLBM launchers and B-52H heavy bombers speaks of the irresponsible attitude of the United States to maintaining the principle of parity between the nuclear forces of the parties and the level of international security that is now observed, ”the analyst said.

  • Heavy bomber B-52N

  • Reuters

  • © US Air Force / Senior Airman Keifer Bowes

According to Leonkov, despite the identification of excess on the American side, the approximate parity between the countries still remains.

However, at the same time, there is also "a dangerous tendency, which may subsequently lead to an upset of the balance of nuclear forces between the countries," the analyst said.

“After such a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, it is quite possible to expect a meeting of the parties that extended START III in order to bring everything in line with the declared parameters.

If Washington continues to ignore Moscow, then sooner or later such behavior of the American side will lead to the agreement being terminated before the date until which it was extended, ”the expert said.

The message of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also says that "the Russian Federation will henceforth publicly insist on strict adherence" to the Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms, Leonkov said.

"From now on, any deviations from the agreement by Russia will be made public, so that later Washington would not have a chance to accuse Moscow of non-compliance with the document's instructions," the analyst believes.

At the same time, experts agree that START III "is now the only mechanism to regulate the number of nuclear warheads and their carriers, deployed and undeployed."

“The document also prevents an uncontrolled nuclear arms race.

Therefore, Washington will nevertheless try to preserve this legal framework, including the system of control over Russian weapons, ”Leonkov said.

At the same time, analysts summarize that in five years the parties will have to conclude a new treaty on strategic offensive weapons.

"Otherwise, cooperation between Russia and the United States in this area will simply be terminated," said Konovalov.

At the same time, he predicted that the situation around the new agreement could be similar to negotiations on the prolongation of START III.

The expert recalled that Washington, under the 45th US President Donald Trump, allowed the document to be not renewed.

“However, having assessed all the danger of this step, the new American administration has already abandoned this measure. Negotiations on the new agreement will follow roughly the same scenario. At the same time, Russia takes a clear position on this issue, which is that such an agreement is needed not only by the Russian Federation, but also by all other countries, since it is the basis for maintaining the balance of power in the world, ”the analyst concluded.