In an address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), rattling the nuclear saber at the U.S. once again.
In defending his decision to suspend the pact, Putin accused the U.S. and NATO of “hypocrisy and cynicism” for supporting Ukraine and seeking to defeat Moscow in the ongoing war.
“And now they want to inspect our defense facilities?” Putin asked. “In the conditions of today’s confrontation, it sounds like sheer nonsense.”
New START was first enacted in 2010 and will expire in 2026 unless both nations extend it.
The treaty caps both the U.S. and Russia at 1,550 nuclear warheads and 700 missiles and bombers and allows for on-site inspections to ensure compliance.
Inspections were paused during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and attempts to resume the regulatory action have been rebuffed by Moscow since November.
Several international security organizations have raised the alarm after Putin’s formal suspension, warning tensions between the nations are spiraling out of control.
Tara Drozdenko, director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement New START is on “life support.”
“The most important thing we can do now is not panic but build pressure on Russia to return to compliance with New START, an agreement that is in the interest of both countries,” Drozdenko said.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the New START suspension “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible.”
“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,” Blinken said. “It matters that we continue to act responsibly in this area. It’s also something the rest of the world expects of us.”
Read more on the Ukraine conflict at TheHill.com.
