In his State of the Union address, President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia would no longer participate in the NEW START treaty. This suspends the last nuclear weapons protocol between the United States and Russia. The New START treaty envisages caps on the number of nuclear weapons and broad inspections of nuclear sites.The treaty went into effect in 2010, when it was signed by then-Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev. The pact limits each country to 1550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. Other NATO members whose arsenal includes nuclear weapons are not part of the agreement.
To explain his resignation from the 2010 treaty, Putin accused NATO and the USA of openly declaring the goal of Russia’s defeat in Ukraine. Despite these allegations, the Russian Foreign Ministry clarified that the country would not withdraw completely from the agreement. It said it would continue to respect the ceilings on nuclear weapons set out in the agreement. Information sharing on ballistic missile test launches will also continue.
Russia views its withdrawal from the agreement as a reaction to the West’s actions in Ukraine. Consequently, the suspension of the agreement is not irreversible. Should the U.S. be willing to create what Moscow considers an “adequate environment for the implementation of the agreement,” Russia is ready to rejoin.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expressed regret over Russia’s withdrawal from New START. “With today’s decision on New START, the entire arms control architecture has been dismantled. I urge Russia to reconsider its decision and respect the existing agreements,” Stoltenberg said.
Jonas Brandstetter, editorial staff
