Russia insists that the monitoring of missile...
With the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) on December 5, U.S. inspectors left on Friday a machine building plant in the city of Votkinsk, located about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) east of Moscow, to end their monitoring mission at the missile manufacturing facility, which lasted for over two decades.
A source close to ongoing Russia-U.S. talks on a replacement to the START I treaty said Moscow wants the new deal to not include monitoring of the Votkinsk plant, as Russian inspectors have not been monitoring similar facilities in the U.S. since 2001 and "there are plenty of other arms control measures that could be implemented by both sides."
Washington insists on the continuation of monitoring at the Votkinsk plant, which produces all Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), including advanced Topol-M and RS-24 missiles.
The U.S. also wants to establish closer monitoring of Russia"s mobile Topol-M systems.