Moscow, Russia.- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday suspended his country’s participation in the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty it signed with the United States, in a speech in which he accused Western countries of “stirring up” the conflict in Ukraine.
In response, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the decision “very disappointing and irresponsible.”
With a few days to go one year after the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Putin said in his annual address to the nation that he remained determined to continue it.
“We are going to solve step by step, carefully and systematically, the objectives that we have before us,” the country’s political elite told the military.
The Russian leader also accused Western countries of using the conflict in Ukraine to “finish off” Russia and claimed that Moscow was “forced” to suspend the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty.
The 2010 treaty is the last between Washington and Moscow to prevent a nuclear escalation, but it has been weakened in recent years, with accusations from the United States that Russia was not complying with it.
“The responsibility for fueling the Ukrainian conflict, for its escalation, for the number of victims (…) falls entirely on the Western elites,” Putin said.
“I regret the decision announced by Russia,” the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, immediately reacted.
Putin’s address comes a day after US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to kyiv, promising new weapons and “unwavering” support from Washington.
Biden will also deliver a speech from Warsaw, after meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The US considers the decision irresponsible
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, described on Tuesday as “very disappointing and irresponsible” the Russian decision to suspend the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty and insisted that his country remained “willing” to talk about the issue.
“Russia’s announcement that it is suspending its participation in New Start is very disappointing and irresponsible,” he told reporters at the US Embassy in Athens.
“But obviously we remain ready at any time to discuss strategic arms limitation with Russia,” he added.
