Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday during his annual state of the nation address in Moscow that he is suspending Russia’s participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States.
Russia will halt its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” Putin said in his announcement.
“Russia is also prepared to begin nuclear weapons testing again but it will not be the first to do so,” he added.
The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), formally called Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, originally entered into force in 2011 between Russia and the United States of America. The measure includes limitations on systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and nuclear warheads on deployed ICBMs.
After the announcement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged Putin to reconsider the decision to suspend the latest START bilateral nuclear arms control treaty that would make the world a more dangerous place.
