Russia slams US doubts of compliance in arms treaties

Russia on Thursday slammed a US State Department report raising doubts about Russia’s compliance with international agreements on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as biased and without proof, Russian foreign ministry said.

“Without giving any factual proof, Russia is listed as a violator of non-proliferation treaties,” the ministry said in a statement.

The State Department Compliance Report said that, while Russia had generally complied with the terms of the previous Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) that expired last December, some issues had remained unresolved.

“The Russian side had taken all necessary measures to resolve these concerns and at the time when the treaty expired, the United States had no complaints on how it was met,” the ministry said.

As for biological weapons, “the US so-called uncertainty on whether Russia has met its obligations could have been clarified a decade ago, if the United States did not block in 2001 the talks on the Biological Weapons Convention’s verification mechanism,” the statement said.

The report raised doubts about Russian compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention, which the Soviet Union signed in 1972 and to which successive Russian governments have pledged to adhere.

“Russia has repeatedly proved its adherence to nuclear non-proliferation and its readiness for partnership, and so statements claiming that Russian companies and institutes continued to develop nuclear programs raising US concerns are unacceptable,” the ministry said.

“Such reports do not help the much talked-about new spirit of partnership and trust between our countries. Such exercises in public diplomacy, without any basis in facts, do not serve our common goals in non-proliferation,” the ministry added.

The Washington Post suggested Republican senators could use the findings to deny President Barak Obama administration’s the two-thirds majority it needs to win ratification for the successor START treaty that was signed by the countries’ leaders in April.