US calls on Russia to stay with nuclear weapons treaty

GENEVA — A top U.S. arms control official on Monday sharply criticized Russia for suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear weapons treaty , but said Washington will try to work with Moscow to continue its implementation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that the country would suspend participation in the New START treaty which obligated both Russia and the U.S. to commit to regular communications on the status of their nuclear arsenals, allow regular on-site inspections and abide by caps on the number of deployed and non-deployed warheads of each side.

“Russia is once again showing the world that it is not a responsible nuclear power,” Bonnie Jenkins, the U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control, said at a session of the Conference on Disarmament, a United Nations-affiliated international forum.

Russia is not withdrawing from the treaty , which is in force until 2026, but Putin said Russia cannot accept U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites while Washington and its NATO allies seek Russia’s defeat in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the country would respect the treaty’s caps on nuclear weapons and continue notifying the U.S. about test launches of ballistic missiles.

The inspections have been dormant since 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions on resuming them were supposed to have taken place last November, but Russia abruptly called them off.

Jenkins later told reporters that the U.S. has not fully assessed the consequences of Russia’s suspension move, but said “we’re not seeing any evidence that Russia is in noncompliance.”

“We remain ready to work assertively with Russia to fully implement the New START treaty, continued implementation of the treaty based on the best interests of both parties,” she said.

Putin’s announcement of suspending participation came just before the first anniversary of Russia sending troops into Ukraine. Putin has repeatedly cast the conflict as necessary to combat alleged Western aims to weaken Russia and has warned of an increasing threat of nuclear war.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy head of the national security council, said last week that “If the U.S. wants Russia’s defeat, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapons, including nuclear.”

“Russia must end this war and must cease its irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” Jenkins said.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna also harshly criticized Russia’s New START suspension at the Geneva conference as “added proof — if any was needed — of the dangerous impasse that Russia is sealing itself into.”

Jim Heintz reported from Moscow

日内瓦——美国一位高级军控官员周一严厉批评俄罗斯暂停参与最后一个核武器条约，但表示华盛顿将努力与莫斯科合作，继续执行该条约。

俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京上周宣布，俄罗斯将暂停参与《新削减战略武器条约》。该条约规定俄罗斯和美国有义务定期就其核武库状况进行沟通，允许定期进行现场核查，并遵守对双方已部署和未部署核弹头数量的限制。

“俄罗斯再次向世界表明，它不是一个负责任的核大国，”美国负责军控的副国务卿邦妮·詹金斯在联合国附属国际论坛裁军谈判会议上说。

俄罗斯并未退出有效期至2026年的《不扩散核武器条约》，但普京表示，在华盛顿及其北约盟国寻求在乌克兰击败俄罗斯之际，俄罗斯不能接受美国对其核设施的核查。俄罗斯外交部表示，俄罗斯将尊重条约对核武器数量的限制，并继续向美国通报弹道导弹试射情况。

自2020年新冠疫情爆发以来，这些检查工作一直处于停滞状态。原定于去年11月就恢复检查工作进行讨论，但俄罗斯突然叫停了讨论。

詹金斯后来告诉记者，美国尚未完全评估俄罗斯暂停制裁的后果，但表示“我们没有看到任何证据表明俄罗斯违反了相关规定”。

她表示：“我们仍然准备与俄罗斯积极合作，全面执行《新削减战略武器条约》，并继续在双方最大利益的基础上执行该条约。”

普京宣布暂停参战的日期恰逢俄罗斯向乌克兰派兵一周年之际。普京一再强调，这场冲突对于打击西方削弱俄罗斯的企图至关重要，并警告称核战争的威胁日益加剧。

俄罗斯前总统、现任国家安全委员会副主席德米特里·梅德韦杰夫上周表示，“如果美国想要俄罗斯战败，我们有权使用任何武器，包括核武器，来保卫自己。”

詹金斯说：“俄罗斯必须结束这场战争，必须停止其不负责任的核言论。”

法国外交部长凯瑟琳·科隆纳也在日内瓦会议上严厉批评了俄罗斯暂停执行《新削减战略武器条约》的做法，称其“进一步证明了——如果还需要证明的话——俄罗斯正在把自己困在危险的僵局之中”。

吉姆·海因茨从莫斯科报道