Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and Strategic Missile Forces Chief Nikolai Solovtsov walk past Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile at a nuclear missile base in Teikovo, some 250 km (150 miles) northeast of Moscow, Thursday, May 15, 2008. (Reuters)From New York Times:
WASHINGTON — With a key arms control treaty set to expire soon, the Obama administration is searching for ways to keep inspectors in Russia or else it risks losing American eyes on the world’s second most formidable nuclear weapons arsenal for the first time in decades.
The administration has been negotiating a replacement for the pact, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or Start, which goes out of force on Dec. 5. But even if the talks produce a new agreement by then, the Senate and the Russian Parliament will not have time to ratify it before the old one expires — and some Republicans on Capitol Hill are warning that approval is far from certain.
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My Comment: "Trust but verify" has always been the cornerstone of all U.S. - Russian strategic agreements. If the verification process is jeopardized, all strategic agreements then become moot. I do not expect any changes to the protocols for inspection to occur, but it is interesting that the New York Times is raising this question now .... is this a leak/story that is being used to pressure Senators who are not too happy to be left out of the loop but whose support is necessary for any future START agreement .... your guess is as good as mine but the timing is more than coincidental.
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