05 February 2018•Update: 06 February 2018
MOSCOW
Russia on Monday criticized the U.S. methods for trying to meet a new nuclear arms reduction treaty, on the deadline for both countries to fulfil the pact.
Russia cannot confirm that the U.S. has met the limitations of the New START Treaty, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on its website.
The U.S. tried to meet the treaty not just by reducing arms but also by re-equipping some of its submarine-launched ballistic missiles and Boeing B-52 strategic bombers with warheads which fall outside the treaty, said a ministry statement.
Moscow also took issue with the U.S. reclassifying sections of missile launch facilities as “training facilities” unforeseen by the treaty, said the statement.
But Russia confirmed its obligations under the treaty and said it would provide the U.S. with relevant data in the near future.
On Friday the U.S. said it had "no reason" to believe Moscow would not meet its own obligations by the Monday, Feb. 5 deadline.
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, sets central limits for Moscow and Washington's nuclear weapons stockpiles, capping deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched missiles and heavy bombers at 700, setting the maximum number of deployed nuclear weapons at 1,550, and limiting deployed and non-deployed ICBMs, submarine-launched missiles, and bombers at 800.
