Russia has submitted a bill to Congress to stop participating in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), a nuclear disarmament treaty signed with the United States, TASS news agency reported on the 21st (local time).
Vyacheslav, chairman of the Russian State Duma (House of Representatives), told reporters that day, “A draft bill to suspend Russia’s participation in the New Start Treaty between the US and Russia has been submitted to the House of Representatives,” and “it has been submitted to the Committee on International Affairs and Defense.”
The draft, posted on the Bundestag’s electronic database, said Russian President Vladimir Putin would decide whether to resume Russia’s participation in New Start, TASS news agency reported.
Speaker Vyacheslav added, “The House of Representatives will review this bill submitted by President (Putin) in plenary session tomorrow (22nd) and make a decision right away.
The Senate of the Russian Federation is also expected to expedite the bill.
“Tomorrow, a plenary meeting with the Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled,” said Russian senator Grigory Karashin. “This issue needs to be addressed quickly and we are ready.”
It has been hours since President Putin announced a suspension of participation. In his first State of the Union Address to Congress since the start of the war in Ukraine, President Putin announced his suspension of participation in New Start. He said “withdrawal” rather than “participation”, but warned that if the United States resumes nuclear tests, Russia is also ready to resume nuclear weapons tests. In addition to the United States, he demanded that the nuclear disarmament of Britain and France, which are allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO · NATO) and nuclear powers, should also be clarified.
However, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that it would abide by the current agreement and left room for resumption of participation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement a few hours after President Putin’s announcement, saying, “Russia will respect the (restriction) cap on nuclear weapons under the New Start Agreement,” and “the decision to suspend participation is reversible.”
“To maintain predictability and stability, Russia will adhere to a responsible approach,” he said. said.
However, the resumption of participation is possible “when both sides (the US and Russia) are mutually symmetrical, equal and able to thoroughly implement it,” he said. added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reiterated its argument that the decision to suspend participation was “because the United States has long and egregiously violated key provisions.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.