Russia suspends participation in New START Treaty – Putin

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) on limiting the nuclear weapons of the Russian Federation and the United States.

Source: Vladimir Putin in his address on 21 February

Details: The Russian president reminded us that the first treaty on strategic offensive weapons was concluded between the USSR (Soviet Union) and the USA in 1991 "under the conditions of reducing tensions and strengthening mutual trust".

He added that the current treaty from 2010 contains clauses on the indivisibility of security, on the direct interconnection of strategic offensive and defencive weapons, but "all this has long been forgotten, the US withdrew from the treaty on anti-missile defence".

According to Putin, the relations between the two countries have deteriorated because the United States is trying to revise the results of the Second World War and build a world "in the American way, where there is only one master," for which they "planned a series of wars".

Putin noted that at the beginning of February 2023, the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) demanded from Russia to return to the implementation of the treaty on strategic offensive weapons, including the admission of inspections of nuclear defence facilities of the Russian Federation.

Quote: "I don't even know what to call it, some kind of theatre of the absurd. We know that the West is directly involved in the attempts of the Kyiv regime to strike at the bases of our strategic aircraft. The drones used for this were equipped and modernised with the assistance of NATO specialists. And so now they also want to inspect our defence facilities?

In the modern conditions of today's confrontation, it sounds like some kind of delusion.

At the same time, we are not allowed to carry out full-fledged inspections within the framework of this contract. Our repeated requests for inspection of certain objects remain unanswered or are rejected on formal grounds. And we can't check anything on the other side.

The US and NATO directly say that their goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. And what, after that they are going to drive around our defence facilities, in particular the newest ones, as if nothing had happened?

A week ago, for example, I signed a decree on putting new strategic land-based complexes on combat duty. Are they going to stick their nose in there, or what?"

Details: According to Putin, by issuing a collective statement, NATO "actually made an application to become a party to the treaty on strategic offensive weapons".

"We agree with this. Please do. What's more, we believe that such a statement of the question is long overdue," Putin said and added that in NATO, in addition to the United States, France and the United Kingdom possess nuclear potential.

According to the Russian dictator, they are also developing against the Russian Federation, and the USA directly issues "ultimatums" to Russia.

Quote: "I have to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty). I repeat, it does not withdraw from the contract, no, but suspends its participation. 

But before we get back to discussing this issue, we need to understand for ourselves what North Atlantic Alliance countries like France and the United Kingdom are claiming, and how we will consider their strategic arsenals. That is the combined potential strike of the Alliance. 

They have now made a substantive application for participation in this process. Well, thank God. Come on, we don't mind. You don't just need to try to lie to everyone again, make yourself a champion of peace and detente." 

Background: The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) is a nuclear arms limitation agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation.

There were three similar agreements: 1991 CSTO-1 or START-1 (between the USSR and the USA), 1992 CSTO-2 or START II (signed by Boris Yeltsin and George W. Bush) and 2010 CSTO-3 or New Start (signed by Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama). The parties extended the last agreement in February 2021.

The United States was the first to withdraw from the Anti-Missile Defense Treaty, signed in 1972 between the USA and the USSR: George Bush Jr. announced on 13 December 2001 that the agreement was still in effect until 12 June 2002.

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