Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Serguei Ryabkov assured this Wednesday that the suspension of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) will not be reviewed until the US “changes its behavior” in Ukraine.
“Until we see signs of common sense in what they are doing with regard to Ukraine, we do not see any possibility that the decision to suspend the New START agreement can be reviewed or reexamined,” Riabkov assured.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree formalizing the suspension of the New START treaty, the last nuclear disarmament pact with the United States of America (US) still in force.
The Kremlin leader announced the measure during the State of the Nation address on Feb. 21, arguing that Western policies forced Russia to suspend its participation in the treaty.
Putin indicated at the time that this was not a total renunciation of the agreement, claiming that the country should be willing to conduct nuclear tests “if the United States conducts them first”.
The New START treaty, in addition to guarantees of inspections and transparency, includes control over the number of nuclear warheads that Russia or the United States are allowed to harbor on their national territory.
The treaty, signed in 2010, limited the number of strategic nuclear weapons, with a maximum of 1,550 warheads and 700 land, sea and airborne ballistic systems for each of the two powers.
Despite Putin’s decision, Washington has shown confidence that this aspect will be preserved and that Russia will not exceed the limits of New START.
New START was signed in Prague on April 8, 2010 by then Presidents of the US, Barack Obama, and of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev.
The former Russian president is currently vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council, a body made up of top Russian state officials and heads of defense and security services that takes the most urgent and important military decisions.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
Source: DN
