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Russia to press for compliance with New START treaty by US

Along with real arms cuts, the United States has also resorted to "incorrect manipulations" in order to achieve targets set by the treaty, the ministry said

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. Russia will press for compliance with the New START treaty by the US, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday in the wake of publication of a US Department of State report on adherence to and compliance with arms control.

"Relying on the formats of collaboration envisioned in the treaty, we keep up dialogue with the US and continue a search for solutions to the problems related to the implementation of the treaty and we'll continue pressing for strict compliance with the treaty on the part of the US," the ministry said.

Along with real arms cuts, the United States has also resorted to "incorrect manipulations" in order to achieve targets set by the treaty, the ministry said in its comment.

"The declared US achievement of the treaty’s goals by the February 5 2018 deadline was a result of not only real arms cuts but also of manipulations, which are incorrect from the point of view of contractual

practice," the comment reads. "Namely, this was conducted through refitting some of Trident-II SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) launchers and B-52H strategic bombers to a configuration that made it impossible for Russia to confirm their inability to use SLBM and nuclear bombs, as envisaged by the treaty."

The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (the New START Treaty) entered into force on February 5, 2011. The document stipulates that seven years after its entry into effect each party should have no more than a total of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and strategic bombers, as well as no more than 1,550 warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs and strategic bombers, and a total of 800 deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers and strategic bombers.

On February 5, 2018 both parties announced they had fulfilled START-3 commitments.