MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. There are no grounds now to raise an issue of continuing dialogue with the United States on reduction of nuclear weapons, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told a press conference on Friday.
"I don’t see grounds to raise in the practical sphere an issue of continuing dialogue with US on controlling nuclear weapons and reducing them in the future," Ryabkov said.
The diplomat noted that the resolution of this issue depends not on who will become the next US president, but rather on "US admitting that the matter of nuclear disarmament cannot be considered separately from other factors affecting strategic stability," Rybakov said.
"The number of such factors does not decrease. On the contrary, it is only growing," the diplomat stressed.
New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty implemented flawlessly by both sides
Ryabkov stressed that the new START Treaty from 2010 is being implemented by Russia and US flawlessly.
"The START Treaty from 2010 is being implemented by both sides in full, I would even say flawlessly," he stressed.
"What is being done in terms of inspections, in the framework of agreements on monitoring, on quantitative parameters - all this is being done, it is an important stabilizing factor. We hope that this will continue in the future," he added.
The Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START) was signed in April 2010 and came into force in February 2011. Its term is 10 years. Under the terms of the treaty, the number of strategic nuclear missile launchers is to be reduced by half. The treaty limits the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550, which is down nearly two-thirds from the original START treaty, as well as 10% lower than the deployed strategic warhead limit of the 2002 Moscow Treaty.
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The total number of deployed warheads, however, could exceed the 1,550 limit by a few hundred because per bomber only one warhead is counted regardless of how many it actually carries. It also limits the number of deployed and non-deployed inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments to 800.
The number of deployed ICBMs, SLBMs, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments is limited to 700. The treaty allows for satellite and remote monitoring, as well as 18 on-site inspections per year to verify limits.