Your trusted source

The United States might use its access to Russian nuclear sites for spying purposes, says an analyst.

Joaquin Flores, with the Center for Syncretic Studies from Belgrade, said in an interview with Press TV that the United States has been acting in “bad faith” and there is every reason to think that it might use its access for the purpose of “espionage.”

“The US has increased both its rhetoric and its actions towards Russia with sanctions and with threats and these have increasingly alienated the US from the international community, and would make little sense for Russia to continue to entertain the US post-Soviet fears by allowing them continue its surveillance for their nuclear sites,” the analyst stated.

Russia has reportedly informed the United States that joint efforts to secure nuclear materials on the Russian territory cannot continue next year.

Russia and the United States are at loggerheads over Ukraine and a number of other issues. Washington accuses Moscow of orchestrating an “illegitimate referendum to annex Crimea” (region in eastern Ukraine) and fuelling unrest in the east of the country.

Moscow has dismissed as “nonsense” the claims that Russian Special Forces are fomenting unrest in Ukraine.

The new development could be described as a byproduct of the downturn in relations between the two nuclear powers, but the Kremlin is also apparently concerned about American nuclear experts accessing its nuclear sites.

Flores noted that in light of increasing hostilities in Ukraine, it would make sense that Russia be quite suspicious of the United States and to say that the program is “no longer” necessary.

The joint effort began in 1991 amid fears that the collapse of the Soviet Union would make its nuclear weapons vulnerable.