Russian President Putin has presented a bill to the lower house of parliament, which proposes the suspension of the New START nuclear control treaty between Russia and the United States.
Putin made the declaration in his much-delayed annual state of the nation address to Russia’s National Assembly on Tuesday.
Hours after Putin’s speech, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the decision to suspend participation in the treaty was “reversible.”
The treaty, which limits the number of strategic nuclear warheads that each country can possess, as well as the number of delivery systems, is the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the two nations.
If approved by the lower house of parliament, the bill will be sent to the upper house for approval.
President Putin announced the suspension in his State of the Union address, citing concerns that the treaty is a legacy of a time when Russia and the US were not viewed as rivals.
Russia’s decision to suspend the New START nuclear control treaty with the US was met with criticism from the US, NATO and EU. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the move as “irresponsible and deeply regrettable” and stated that the US would take appropriate measures to ensure its own security and that of its allies.
The New START treaty, which limits each country to deploying no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads, as well as controlling land- and submarine-launched ballistic missiles and bombers carrying bombs and nuclear cruise missiles, is the last remaining arms control treaty between Russia and the US. It was signed in Prague in 2010, entered into force in 2011 and was extended for another five years in 2021 under US President Joe Biden.
The Kremlin did not notify the US of the decision in advance.
Related
Source: Vietnam Insider