MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/. The issue of resuming inspection activity within the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is being considered, Moscow and Washington are engaged in discussions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.
"As for the inspection activity under the treaty, it has been suspended since the beginning of 2020 by mutual agreement with the Americans because of the coronavirus pandemic. The issue of its resumption is under consideration. There is an ongoing dialogue through the appropriate channels on how the parties could return to full implementation of the treaty in this part," the diplomat said.
The US-Russian dialogue within the New START framework is primarily about a bilateral advisory commission on the START, Zakharova stressed. "At the moment, we are exploring possibilities for holding a face-to-face session. Discussions about what organizational and technical problems should be solved remotely within the framework of the commission are continuing," the diplomat noted.
According to the spokeswoman, some of the pertinent issues have been resolved and other issues have made significant progress. "But a number of significant difficulties remain. I would like to note that the implementation of essentially routine measures stipulated by the treaty is complicated by the unconstructive anti-Russian actions of the US and its partners," she added.
Zakharova stressed that the US and its partners continue to impose new sanctions and hinder normal interaction between the two sides. "We will seek to resolve all problematic issues in the context of implementing the treaty on an equal basis, taking into account our national interests," she stated.