Illustrative photo – Launch of the Russian intercontinental missile Sarmat.
Moscow – Russia will continue to observe the limits on the number of nuclear warheads and their carriers defined in the New START Treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement today. According to him, the reason is to maintain stability. The suspension of Russia's participation in the treaty was announced today by President Vladimir Putin during his annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly.
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The aforementioned agreement was signed in 2010 in Prague by the then presidents of the United States and Russia, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev. Russia has previously refused to cooperate on nuclear weapons inspections, the conditions of which are described in this treaty.
In a long statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs particularly criticizes the United States, which, according to it, has seriously violated the treaty by its behavior. According to Russian diplomacy, Washington was, among other things, trying to “verify” the security of a number of Russian objects falling under New START. He then shares the obtained intelligence information with Ukraine, which Russia almost attacked a year ago.
“Nevertheless, in order to maintain sufficient predictability and stability in the field of nuclear weapons, Russia intends to maintain a responsible approach and will continue to comply with the treaty's numerical limitations on strategic offensive weapons,” the ministry writes. At the same time, Moscow will continue to exchange information on test launches of ballistic missiles based on previous agreements with the United States.
New START has its roots in the early 1990s, when the first treaty was signed by the presidents of the US and the Soviet Union, George Bush Sr. and Mikhail Gorbachev. Obama and Medvedev set a limit for their countries' arsenals at 1,550 “strategic nuclear weapons,” or longer-range weapons. The representatives of Moscow and Washington were supposed to discuss the extension of the agreement, which is currently valid until 2026, as well as its possible expansion in 2021. However, Russia postponed the negotiations without proposing a new date.
Putin: Russia suspends participation in treaty limiting the number of nuclear warheads
Russia is suspending participation in the treaty known as New START, which limits the number of nuclear warheads and their carriers. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this in today's speech to members of parliament and other representatives of the ruling elite. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Putin's statement irresponsible, but according to Washington, it is unclear whether the announcement will have practical consequences.
The aforementioned agreement was signed in 2010 in Prague by the then presidents of the United States and Russia, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev. Russia has previously refused to cooperate on nuclear weapons inspections, the terms of which are described in this treaty. The New START Treaty is considered the last major Russian-American nuclear arms control treaty.
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending participation in the New START Treaty. I repeat, it is not withdrawing from the treaty, it is suspending participation,” TASS quoted Putin as saying. Russia will resume participation when it receives an explanation of how the treaty will take into account “the total strike arsenal of the North Atlantic Alliance”, the Russian president said.
“Before we return to discussing this issue, we need to know what the North Atlantic Alliance countries like France and Britain are up to,” Putin said. He described the demand that Russia allow inspections of its defense infrastructure facilities as an “absurd drama”. premier of Rishi Sunak. According to London, Putin threatens global security with this step only for political gain.
Head of American diplomacy Blinken considers Moscow's decision irresponsible and deeply unfortunate. “We will be watching closely what Russia actually does… We remain ready to negotiate with Russia at any time on limiting (the number of) strategic arms, regardless of everything else that is going on in our relationship or in the world,” he was quoted as saying by the BBC.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price later added that the United States had not registered any reason to change the configuration of its nuclear forces after Putin's statement. According to Reuters, he also said that it was not clear whether the Russian president's words would have any practical impact.
Washington expressed its belief at the end of last year that Moscow was not complying with its obligations under the agreement when it refused to carry out inspection on its territory. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said at the time that the current state of Russian-American relations does not allow for a new meeting regarding the nuclear agreement.
New START has its roots in the early 1990s, when the first START treaty was signed by the presidents of the US and the Soviet Union George Bush Sr. and Mikhail Gorbachev. Obama and Medvedev concluded the New START treaty in April 2010, setting a limit for their countries' arsenals at the level of 1,550 “strategic nuclear weapons”, or longer-range weapons. The representatives of Moscow and Washington were supposed to discuss the extension of the agreement, which is currently valid until 2026, as well as its possible extension in 2021. However, Russia postponed the negotiations without proposing a new date.
