The State Duma (Lower House of the Russian Parliament) approved on Wednesday the suspension of the START III nuclear disarmament treaty, or New START, at the proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The head of the Kremlin announced a day earlier, during his state of the nation address, that Russia was suspending its participation in this pact, the last nuclear disarmament pact still in force between Russia and the United States.
Vladimir Putin announced the decision to suspend Russia's participation in the treaty a day earlier, during his speech before the Federal Assembly (meeting of the two parliamentary chambers). He then pointed out that the current arms control system does not regulate the amount of nuclear weapons held by America's NATO allies, namely France and Britain, and Russian inspectors cannot monitor military facilities in the United States. Joined.
Dimitri Medvedev, current vice president of the Russian Security Council, has supported the measure and has said on his Telegram channel that "it is time to include" the nuclear forces of these two countries in the agreements between Russia and the US.
The president recalled that the United States and NATO speak directly of their intention to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. "And after that, as if nothing had happened, they are going to travel to our defense facilities, including the newest ones?" Putin said.
Russia and the United States suspended their mutual inspections in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. They have never been resumed.
The treaty was signed in 2010 in Prague by then presidents Dimitri Medvedev and Barack Obama. The pact reduced the number of nuclear warheads that both countries could deploy to 1,550, and the number of ballistic systems to 700 on land, sea and in the air. Moscow and Washington failed to renew it in 2021, and just after Joe Biden assumed the US presidency, both countries decided to extend its validity until 2026.
The Russian president pointed out on Tuesday that "it is not about the withdrawal of the treaty, but only about the suspension of participation in it." However, that allows the resumption of nuclear tests.
In fact, during his speech, Putin ordered the Defense Ministry and the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom to be ready to conduct nuclear weapons tests if necessary.
"Of course, we are not going to do it first. But if the United States carries out tests, then we will do it too. But we will not be the first," Putin stressed.
According to the norm, it will be the head of the Kremlin himself who will decide in the future if Moscow returns to fulfilling its obligations under this treaty.
