Russia suspends its participation in a major nuclear deal

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putindeclared on Tuesday that Moscow would suspend its participation in the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear non-proliferation pact with USA. The announcement raised the stakes in a climate of tension with Washington over the war in Ukraine.

In his state of the nation address, Putin said Russia must be prepared to resume nuclear weapons tests if the United States does so, a move that would end the global ban on nuclear weapons tests in place since the Cold War.

To explain your decision to suspend Russia’s obligations under the treaty new STARTPutin accused the United States and its allies of NATO to openly declare the goal of defeating Russia in the Ukraine.

“They want to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on us and at the same time try to get to our nuclear facilities.Putin said.

Putin argued that as the United States pushed to resume inspections of Russian nuclear facilities under the treaty, NATO allies have helped Ukraine mount drone strikes against Russian airbases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers.

“The drones used for this were equipped and modernized with the assistance of NATO experts,” Putin said. “And now they want to inspect our defense facilities? In the current conditions of confrontation, it sounds like sheer nonsense.”

Putin stressed that Russia was suspending its participation in New START, but not completely withdrawing from the pact.

The New START treaty, signed in 2010 by US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, limits the two countries to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 deployed bombers and missiles. The agreement includes extensive inspections to verify compliance.

Just days before the treaty was due to expire in February 2021, Russia and the United States agreed to extend it for another five years.

Russia and the United States have suspended mutual inspections of New START since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but Moscow refused last fall to resume them, raising uncertainty about the future of the deal. Russia also indefinitely postponed a planned round of consultations associated with the treaty.

Source: AP