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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/21/putin-russia-halt-participation-new-start-nuclear-arms-treaty>
"Vladimir Putin has said Russia will halt its participation in New Start, the
last major remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the US, in a speech
devoted to the one-year anniversary of Russia’s large-scale invasion of
Ukraine.
“They want to inflict a strategic defeat on us and claim our nuclear
facilities,” the Russian president said during a speech characterised by
grievances against the west. “In this regard, I am forced to state that Russia
is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty.”
The full implications of Putin’s threat were not immediately clear. Russia has
already suspended mutual inspections of nuclear weapons sites and participation
in a bilateral consultative commission. Experts said that if Putin now went
further and stopped routine reporting and data exchange on nuclear weapon
movements and other related developments, it would be a serious blow.
“The announcement by Russia that it’s suspending participation in New Start is
deeply unfortunate and irresponsible,” the US secretary of state, Antony
Blinken, told reporters on a visit to Athens. “We’ll be watching carefully to
see what Russia actually does. We’ll of course make sure that in any event we
are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our
allies.”
The 2010 New Start treaty provides for limits on the deployed strategic nuclear
arsenals of the world’s two largest nuclear powers, capping strategic nuclear
assets at 1,550 deployed warheads and 700 deployed missiles and heavy bombers.
The treaty also provides for joint monitoring of each side’s deployed nuclear
arsenals, as well as coordination through the bilateral consultative
commission.
Later, the Russian foreign ministry announced that Moscow would continue to
abide by the limits set by the treaty and would also continue to exchange
information with the US on planned launches of intercontinental and
submarine-launched ballistic missiles under the 1988 Ballistic Missile Launch
Notification Agreement."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
