Blinken: Putin’s decision to suspend New START participation “irresponsible”

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has called Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend participation in New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty, “irresponsible”, as per Reuters.

"The announcement by Russia that it’s suspending participation is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible. 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,” Blinken said during a press conference in Athens.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, also commented on the matter earlier today. “More nuclear weapons and less arms control makes the world more dangerous,” he said. Stoltenberg called on Russia to reconsider its decision.

EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell reacted to the news, too, and said that Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the treaty destroys the international security system.

“The decision made by Russia on the START Treaty destroys the system of international security created after the Cold War,” he said. “After this decision, the EU has to think about new measures in international security,” he added after talks with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister and NATO Secretary General in Brussels.

Putin announced during his address to the Federal Assembly earlier today that Russia was suspending its participation in New START, a treaty that was signed in 2010 and was valid until 2026 in its latest edition.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the matter, announcing that Russia was still going to abide by the quantity limits stated in the treaty despite the suspension. “The suspension decision may be reversed, though,” the agency noted.