In a major move, Russia has decided to suspend its last major nuclear arms treaty with the US, further weakening the ties between the two countries. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that Moscow is suspending its compliance with the New START treaty. The New START treaty is Russia’s last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the US.
Putin, in his state-of-the-nation address, also emphasized that Moscow is suspending the pact and not entirely withdrawing from it yet. He further added that Russia should be ready to restart nuclear weapons tests if the US decides to do so. If this should happen, that would mean the end of the global ban on testing nuclear weapons. The global ban on testing nuclear weapons has been in place since the Cold War times.
What is the New START Treaty?
The formal name of the New START Treaty is ‘The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.’ The treaty limits both countries to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The pact also allows for on-site inspections in order to verify compliance on both sides.
On April 8, 2010, then-US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New START Treaty. It came into force on February 5, 2011, and was due to expire in February 2021. But a few days before the treaty was supposed to expire, both Moscow and Washington agreed to extend it for another five years.
The US and Russia had mutually suspended on-site inspections under New START since Covid-19. But last year, Moscow refused to resume the inspections, putting the treaty’s future into question. Russia has also suspended a planned round of consultations under the treaty.
Putin in his state-of-the-nation address
This new suspension by Russia comes amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington due to the Ukraine war. President Putin, in his state-of-the-nation address, explained why Moscow had decided to stop following the treaty. He said that the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had made it clear that they wanted Russia to lose the Russia-Ukraine war.
Putin said, “They want to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time. In this context, I have to declare today that Russia is suspending its participation in the treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms.”
Putin further added that at the same time the US had pushed for the resumption of on-site inspections under the treaty, NATO allies were helping Ukraine mount drone attacks on Russian air bases storing nuclear bombers. He condemned NATO’s statement asking Moscow to resume inspections and called the US’s attempt to resume inspections, in light of NATO’s involvement with Ukraine, “sheer nonsense.”
The US Secretary of State responds to the suspension
Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, judged Putin’s decision as “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible.” Blinken told reporters during his visit to Greece that, irrespective of Moscow’s decision, the US will continue to act responsibly in the situation. Blinken also added that the US will be meticulously examining Russia’s next moves.
Blinken expressed that the US is open to discuss the treaty at any time with Russia irrespective of anything else going on in the world or in the relationship of the two countries.
Jen Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general, in a statement also expressed regret over Moscow’s decision to suspend the pact and encouraged Moscow to reconsider its decision.
