Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in his State of the Union address on the 21st (local time) that Russia would stop participating in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), a nuclear arms control treaty with the United States.
According to Reuters, President Putin said in a State of the Union address at the Gostny Dvor exhibition center in Moscow that day, “The United States is turning the war in Ukraine into a global conflict,” and “Russia has no choice but to announce that it will stop participating in New Start.” said.
New Start is a follow-up agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Agreement signed in 1991. It contains content to reduce the number of nuclear warheads deployed by the US and Russia to less than 1,550 each and inspect each other’s nuclear facilities. It was originally for 10 years, but it was extended for 5 years in February 2021, immediately after the inauguration of US President Joe Biden, and is effective until February 2026.
“I am absolutely aware that the United States is developing a new type of nuclear weapon and that some American officials are considering the possibility of an all-out nuclear weapons test,” Putin said. If the US conducts a nuclear test, we will do the same,” he said. No one should be under the illusion that they could undermine the global strategic balance.”
President Putin also made it clear that he intends to continue the war with Ukraine. “Step by step, we will carefully and systematically achieve the goals we face,” he said. He went on to say that he repeatedly blamed the West for the war, accusing the Western elite of “solely responsible for fanning the Ukrainian conflict, escalating tensions and escalating the war.”
“Russian companies have rebuilt their supply chains, and are working with other countries to build new payment systems and financial structures,” Putin said. “The West has failed to defeat our economy. The Russian economy and businesses are much stronger than they thought.”
“It is our responsibility to support families who have lost loved ones,” Putin said. He also devoted a significant portion of his speech to measures to maintain friendly public opinion against the war and promote social stability, such as saying that he would expand social support programs for occupied territories in Ukraine.
This is the first time since April 2021 that President Putin gave a State of the Union address, which started at noon local time and lasted for about two hours.
Source: Donga