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The President of Russia addressed both houses of Parliament in the State of the Nation address, which focused on the situation of the war in Ukraine. In his address, he announced that Moscow will leave the agreement with the United States, which restricted the nuclear capacity of both. While he assured that they will continue step by step with their objectives in Eastern Europe and that a defeat is impossible. Finally, he pointed against the West as responsible for the escalation in Ukraine and stressed that the existence of Russia is at stake.
This Tuesday, February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed Parliament and its citizens in the long-awaited State of the Nation speech.
Focused on the conflict taking place in Ukraine, which is close to a year old, the president launched an alarming announcement: Moscow will no longer participate in the New START treaty with the United States, which limited the nuclear arsenals of both powers.
Putin stressed that the Kremlin will not withdraw from the agreement, but will remain on the sidelines for the time being. “I am compelled to announce today that Russia will suspend its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” he noted.
The Russian president clarified that his country will not be the one to escalate the fighting to nuclear terrain first, but that they will be ready if the United States carries out tests.
Between Moscow and Washington they possess almost 90% of the world’s atomic warheads.
“No one should have dangerous illusions that global strategic parity can be destroyed,” he said.
The New START was signed in Prague in 2010 and extended in 2021 for another five years, with the aim of establishing controls and limits on the development of higher caliber weapons, of which Russia has the largest arsenal in the world.
The Russian president said that the demands that NATO had launched to allow them access to their nuclear bases under the justification of the validity of New START were absurd and warned that members of the transatlantic bloc, such as France and the United Kingdom, had nuclear weapons. targeting Russia.
The Western bloc quickly reacted negatively to Russian statements about the suspension of participation in the bilateral treaty. The first was Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, who regretted the decision during a conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and European Union senior diplomat Josep Borrell.
Stoltenberg also remarked that the one who started this “imperial war of conquest” was Moscow, which “is preparing for more wars” and stressed that it is the only aggressor. In addition, he described a possible victory of the invading troops as “dangerous” for the security of Europe “and the entire world.”
For his part, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, also referred to the Russian departure from New START. The diplomat asserted that he is “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible.”
“We will watch closely to see what Russia actually does. Of course, we will make sure that in any case we are in a suitable position for the security of our own country and that of our allies,” she added.
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