Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START treaty — the last remaining nuclear arms-control pact with the U.S. — in a move that sharply ups the ante amid tensions with Washington over the war in Ukraine, reports USA Today.
Resuming nuclear weapons tests
In his state-of-the-nation address, Putin also said that Russia should stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the U.S. does so, a move that would end a global ban on nuclear weapons tests in place since Cold War times.
He also accused Western countries Tuesday of igniting and sustaining the war in Ukraine, dismissing any blame of Moscow almost a year after the Kremlin’s unprovoked invasion of its neighbor, which has killed tens of thousands of people.
Explaining his decision to suspend Russia’s obligations under New START, Putin accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of openly declaring the goal of Russia’s defeat in Ukraine.
“They want to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time,” he said. “In this context, I have to declare today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms” — the New START pact.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken deplored Putin’s move as “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible,” noting that “we’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does.”
He added that the U.S. would “make sure that, in any event, we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies,” but he emphasized that “we remain ready to talk about strategic arms limitations at any time with Russia, irrespective of anything else going on in the world or in our relationship.”
“I think it matters that we continue to act responsibly in this area,” Blinken told reporters on a visit to Greece. “It’s also something the rest of the world expects of us.”
Regret over Putin’s move
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also voiced regret over Putin’s move, saying that “with today’s decision on New START, full arms-control architecture has been dismantled.”
“I strongly encourage Russia to reconsider its decision and respect existing agreements,” he told reporters.
Putin argued that, even as the U.S. has pushed for the resumption of inspections of Russian nuclear facilities under the treaty, NATO allies had helped Ukraine mount drone attacks on Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
The Russian military said that it shot down Soviet-built drones that struck two bomber bases deep inside Russia in December, but acknowledged that several servicemen were killed by debris, which also damaged some aircraft.
Putin on Tuesday mocked NATO’s statement urging Russia to allow the resumption of the U.S. inspections of Russian nuclear weapons sites as “some kind of theater of the absurd.”
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Source: USA Today
