US says it has no indication of ‘change' after Russia suspended sharing nuke information

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US said Wednesday it has not received an indication of “a change" after a Russian official announced his country will no longer share information with the US about missile tests under the 1988 ballistic missile agreement.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov earlier Wednesday said Moscow has suspended sharing information with Washington after suspending the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).

Asked about the senior Russian official's remarks, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters: "We have not received any notice indicating a change."

"As you do probably recall, Russia has informed the US that it will no longer provide notifications under New Start as it relates to ballistic missile launches," he said, "But it will continue to provide missile launch notifications under the 1988 ballistic missile launch notifications agreement and they have not notified us of any changes to that approach."

The 1988 Ballistic Missile Launch Notification Agreement signed between the US and Russia requires each nation to notify the other "no less than twenty-four hours in advance, of the planned date, launch area, and area of impact for any launch of a strategic ballistic missile."

Patel said the US will continue to "evaluate next steps with regards to Russia's non compliance with New START,” adding: "We'll consider additional countermeasures, which will be informed by our own national security impact of Russia's violation and our strategy for bringing Russia back into compliance."

The New START Treaty was the last nuclear accord between Russia and the US. It imposed curbs on nuclear arsenals and established a verification system for the countries to use.