President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday suspended Russia’s participation in the New Start treaty, a major nuclear disarmament agreement, and accused the West of “stirring up” the conflict in Ukraine, while his American counterpart, Joe Biden, assured that Moscow “will never” win the war.
During his state of the nation address to both houses of Parliament, Putin warned that the United States wants to “deal him a strategic defeat by getting into his nuclear facilities.”” and advanced that “if Washington carries out nuclear tests with a new type of strategic weapon, Russia will also carry out tests” of that kind.
“Of course, we will not be the first to do so (…). No one should harbor the dangerous illusion that strategic global parity can be destroyed,” the Russian leader commented.
Subsequently, France and the United Kingdom, two other nuclear powers, called on Moscow to reconsider its “hasty decision” and “show responsibility.”
The truth is that hours later, and Despite Putin’s announcement, the Russian Foreign Ministry assured that the suspension announced by the president is “reversible” and that Moscow “will maintain a responsible approach and it will continue to rigorously respect (…) the quantitative limitations of strategic offensive weapons” until the expiration of that treaty, scheduled for 2026.
(It may interest you: Putin sends a warning: “The West started the war, but Russia is invincible”)
The New Start treaty, signed in 2010 between Russia and the United States, aims to limit the nuclear arsenals of these two countries by 30 percent. Under the current scenario, for the political analyst at Dentons Global Advisors Muni Jensen, what happened this Tuesday “is equivalent to having taken off the gloves.”
“It was time for Putin to reinforce his speech and propaganda, seek internal support and send a strong message. And he came at an interesting time with Biden on the ground (he’s touring Europe),” he added.
It’s not so much that he has nuclear weapons ready, but that he has to give the image that he is willing to use them.
For his part, Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, an academic at the Universidad del Rosario, believes that Putin’s announcement “is bad news for the world and a very worrying sign with a view to nuclear proliferation.”
(Also read: Russia assures that the suspension of the nuclear disarmament treaty is “reversible”)
Being one of the main détente pacts in the post-cold war period, for the analyst, the Russian president’s decision means the exit point from globalization and the possibility of security cooperation for those who were sworn enemies for half a century.
“The agreement had allowed the reduction of nuclear arsenal (nuclear warheads) and encouraged the fight against horizontal nuclear proliferation. In other words, to prevent States that do not have nuclear military capabilities, such as Iran or North Korea, from acquiring them”, noted the academic, and warned that the situation opens the possibility of a Russian-American arms race.
For now, that possibility seems remote and Putin’s words are rather symbolic.
“It’s not so much that he has nuclear weapons ready, but that he has to give the image that he is willing to use them. Deal or no deal, that’s always been his tactic. That is his biggest threat against the West. What we are seeing is a three-handed pulse: Putin, Xi and Biden, ”says Jensen.
The expert considers that this is a “decisive moment” for the West, because, if all goes well, it can define the course of US foreign policy by strengthening the link with Europe, especially with NATO. But “if he doesn’t do well, he’s going to deflate Biden’s momentum.”
(You can read: US considers Russian suspension of nuclear disarmament treaty ‘irresponsible’)
Everything possible must be done for an immediate return to (nuclear) dialogue
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced that With Russia’s decision, “the entire architecture of arms control” was dismantled.
The US suspended the arms control talks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began almost a year ago, and the last attempt to resume the talks last November was indefinitely postponed by the Kremlin. In addition, Moscow informed Washington in August of its decision to ban US on-site inspections of its nuclear arsenal, citing difficulties in doing the same in the United States due to Western sanctions.
(Also: Why Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine could spark World War III?)
Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, insisted yesterday that “everything possible must be done for an immediate return to (nuclear) dialogue.”
Through his spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres did not directly criticize Russia, but considered that “a world without nuclear weapons control is much more dangerous and can have potentially catastrophic consequences,” the diplomat reiterated, and insisted that it is “vital ” ensure a high-level commitment between the two great nuclear powers for nuclear disarmament.
STEPHANY ECHAVARRÍA
INTERNATIONAL EDITOR
TIME
@stephechavarria
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