Putin Says Russia Suspends Participation in Nuclear Treaty

MOSCOW (Reuters)—President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States that limits the two sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals.

Putin stressed that Russia was not withdrawing from the treaty but the suspension further imperils the last remaining pillar of arms control between the United States and Russia, which between them hold nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear warheads – enough to destroy the planet many times over.

“In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Putin told lawmakers towards the end of a major speech to parliament, nearly one year into the war in Ukraine.

Putin said Russia’s nuclear energy company Rosatom must also ensure the country’s readiness to test a nuclear weapon, if needed.

“Of course, we will not be the first to do this. But if the United States tests, then we will,” He said. “No one must be under any dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed.”

The New START treaty was signed in Prague in 2010, came into force the following year and was extended in 2021 for five more years just after U.S. President Joe Biden took office.

It limits the number of nuclear warheads the United States or Russia can deploy and also allows for the deployment of missiles and bombers from land and sea to deliver them.

Experts say Russia holds the largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, with nearly 6,000 warheads.

INSPECTIONS

Analysts believe Russia’s actions will make it more difficult to ensure compliance with the treaty.

“Suspension of the treaty is not equal to leaving the treaty, I assume there will be no Russian build-up above the treaty limits,” Andrey Baklitskiy from the U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research stated this on Twitter.

“But there will be much fewer opportunities to verify this (only national technical means), so compliance will be disputed,” He added.

In his speech, Putin said, without providing evidence, that the West was directly involved in Ukrainian attacks on bases for Russian strategic bomber planes deep inside Russian territory.

He said NATO demands that Russia should allow inspections of its nuclear bases under the New START treaty were therefore absurd.

NATO and the U.S. openly declare that they want to inflict a major strategic loss on Russia. What’s more, they plan to drive all over our defense facilities, even the most recent ones.