Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that “In just a few days, the world will move to a more dangerous state, compared to what we had so far.” Peskov is referring to a key nuclear reduction treaty between Russia and the United States that expires on February 5th.
Peskov added that if the U.S. rejects the extension, “it would be very bad for the safety of the world, for strategic security,” he added.
The New START treaty, which limits the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals, will expire on Thursday. Peskov reiterated Russia’s offer to extend the deal for another year during a press briefing on Tuesday.
Russia has already suspended verification mechanisms under the treaty after the Ukraine conflict escalated, saying that Ukrainian strikes had targeted elements of Russian nuclear deterrence. Russian President Vladimir Putin called it “absurd” for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to demand resumed inspections, given that Russia “knows that the West is directly involved in attempts by the Kiev regime to strike the bases of our strategic aircraft.”
In a speech on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he is suspending Russia’s participation in the New START nuclear treaty with the United States. He also warned Washington that Russia has put new ground-based strategic nuclear weapons “on combat duty.”
STARTS’s official name is The Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, according to a report by ABC News. –SHTFPlan, 2023
Putin Suspends Nuclear Treaty & Puts Missiles On “Combat Duty”
According to a report by RT, the New START treaty was signed in 2011 as a continuation of Cold War-era nuclear risk-reduction efforts. New START was last prolonged in 2021. The treaty caps the number of nuclear weapons and delivery systems each country can possess and deploy.
US President Donald Trump said he wants the treaty replaced with one that includes China. “If it expires, it expires. We’ll do a better agreement,” he told the New York Times last month. Moscow argues nuclear-armed NATO members France and the UK must also be part of any calculations. – RT
