Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Russia’s decision to suspend participation in its last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the U.S. is “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible.”
“We’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does,” Blinken told reporters. “We’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.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the country was suspending its participation in the New START Treaty during his state of the nation address on Tuesday, in which he railed against the West’s participation in the war in Ukraine.
“We aren’t fighting the Ukrainian people,” Putin said, one day after President Biden made surprise visit to Ukraine in a show of support. “The Ukrainian people have become hostages of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, which have effectively occupied the country.”
“They want to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time,” he added. “In this context, I have to declare today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms.”
The New START Treaty was initially signed by former President Obama and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010.
It was extended for another five years by Biden in 2021 “because it was clearly in the security interests of our country and actually in the security interests of Russia,” Blinken said on Tuesday.
“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 added. “I think it matters that we continue to act responsibly in this area. It’s also something the rest of the world expects of us.”
The U.S. accused Russia of violating the New START Treaty last month, after Moscow blocked on-site inspections and declined to meet to discuss Washington’s concerns.
During his unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, Biden announced another $500 million in aid for Ukraine.
“Russia’s aim was to wipe Ukraine off the map. Putin’s war of conquest is failing,” he said. “Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. … I don’t think he’s thinking that right now.”