Russia Suspends Participation in Last Nuclear Arms Treaty With US

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 21 announced Moscowโ€™s unilateral suspension of its participation in the New START treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States.

โ€œAs of today, Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,โ€ Putin said in a national address, which he delivered almost one year after the launch of Russiaโ€™s invasion of Ukraine.

โ€œWeโ€™re not withdrawing from the agreement,โ€ he clarified. โ€œWeโ€™re just suspending [our participation in] it.โ€

The New START treaty, which was first signed in 2010 and took effect the following year, aims to set limits on both countriesโ€™ sizable nuclear arsenals.

In 2021, shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden took office, the treaty was extended by a further five years.

The United States and Russia are believed to account for roughly 90 percent of the worldโ€™s existing nuclear warheads.

According to the Washington-based Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation, Russiaโ€™s arsenal consists of some 5,977 nuclear warheads, while the United States currently possesses about 5,550 warheads.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the move as โ€œunfortunate and irresponsible.โ€

โ€œWeโ€™ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does,โ€ Blinken told reporters. โ€œWeโ€™ll, of course, make sure that in any event we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies.โ€

The Brussels-based NATO alliance, for its part, said Putinโ€™s announcement signaled the end of the existing global arms-control architecture.

โ€œWith todayโ€™s decision [by Russia] on New START, full arms control architecture has been dismantled,โ€ NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters.ย โ€œI strongly encourage Russia to reconsider its decision and respect existing agreements.โ€

Putin Calls Nuke Site Inspections โ€˜Absurdโ€™

Last month, the U.S. State Department claimed in a report to Congress that Russia was refusing to allow on-site inspections of its nuclear-weapons facilities.ย The report also claimed that Moscow had failed to respond to the Biden administrationโ€™s requests to discuss its alleged noncompliance with the New START treaty.

Byย Adam Morrow

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