MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia will suspend its participation in the New Start strategic arms reduction treaty, without formally withdrawing from the pact concluded with the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, attracting immediate criticism from NATO and Washington.
In an annual address to the Russian Parliament, Vladimir Putin issued new implicit nuclear threats to Western countries that support Ukraine, announcing the entry into service of new missiles and opening the door to a resumption of Russian nuclear tests if the United States were to do the same.
The New Start treaty, signed in 2010 and due to expire in 2026, limits to 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that the two former Cold War-era superpowers can deploy in intercontinental ballistic missiles, missiles or strategic bombers.
“I am obliged to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Treaty,” said Vladimir Putin, justifying this decision by the fact that Russia cannot carry out inspections to verify its application by Western countries.
The head of the Kremlin insisted that his country was not withdrawing from the treaty but that it was suspending its participation, waiting to find out “what NATO countries like France and the United Kingdom want “.
Subsequently, the Russian Foreign Ministry indicated that Russia would continue to respect the limit set by the treaty on the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed on missiles, saying in a statement that Moscow wanted to take a “responsible approach” and maintain a “sufficient degree of predictability and stability”.
Reacting to Vladimir Putin’s speech, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he regretted Russia’s decision and urged it to reconsider its position.
Denouncing for his part an “unfortunate and irresponsible” announcement, the American Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that the United States would always take the necessary measures for their security and that of their allies, while remaining open to dialogue on the subject.
France “deplores” Vladimir Putin’s initiative and calls on Russia to “show responsibility and come back to its announcement as soon as possible”, said the Quai d’Orsay.
Vladimir Putin claimed, without providing evidence, that some US officials were considering resuming nuclear testing and said that Russia would not hesitate to do the same if it did.
“Of course, we won’t do it first. But if the United States tries, we will too. No one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed,” he said. he said.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, with Bart Meijer in Brussels and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; French version Nicolas Delame, Tangi Salaün and Jean Terzian, editing by Kate Entringer, Matthieu Protard and Bertrand Boucey)
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