US suspends data sharing on nuclear forces with Russia

Russia will not provide the United States with data on its nuclear forces, which they exchange every six months under a key nuclear arms control treaty, and the United States will not do so in return.

This was stated on Tuesday by a senior Pentagon official and National Security Council spokesman, CNN reports.

"Yesterday, we had further interaction with Russia, insisting that by the end of the month, there should be a data exchange that takes place every six months, according to the treaty," said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy John Plumb at a hearing of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Armed Services.

"Russia said they would not provide this information. And so, as a diplomatic countermeasure, the United States will not provide information in return," he said.

According to Plumb, the United States will continue to study what diplomatic countermeasures are appropriate.

"What we're trying to do is balance the response to Russia's irresponsible behavior, but continue to demonstrate what we believe should be the actions of a responsible nuclear power," he said.

The NSC spokesman called the decision not to provide the data in response to Russia's actions "a legitimate countermeasure aimed at encouraging Russia to return to compliance with the treaty" and noted that "Russia's refusal to share this data... would be a violation of the treaty, adding to the existing violations."

"In the interest of strategic stability, the United States will continue to promote public transparency about our nuclear force levels and deployments," the NSC spokesman said.

Author - Olena Madiak, 28/03/2023