REPORTS: RUSSIA THREATENING TO CUT ARMS CONTROL INSPECTIONS

United States and Russian tensions over Ukraine are threatening to spill over into arms control efforts by the two countries. According to Russian news reports, Russia is considering disallowing nuclear weapons inspections that are part of arms control treaties with the United States, including the New START Treaty, in response to potential U.S. sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine. The report, in Russian news agency RIA Novosti, cited a source in Russia’s Defense Ministry, but the ministry hinted at its plans in a statement. “The unfounded threats towards Russia from the United States and NATO over its policy on Ukraine are seen by us as an unfriendly gesture,” the ministry said. Russia has repeatedly warned against U.S. sanctions, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warning Secretary of State John Kerry against “hasty and ill-considered steps capable of causing damage to the U.S.-Russian relations, especially sanctions that will inevitably hit the U.S. like a boomerang.” The New START Treaty provides for 18 inspections a year by each country, and the U.S. and Russia each conducted 54 inspections during the first three years of the treaty.