Russia announcement on nuclear treaty ‘deeply unfortunate and irresponsible’ -Blinken
3581 Min Read
Russia’s decision to suspend participation in a nuclear arms control treaty was irresponsible and the United States will watch carefully to see what Moscow actually does, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.
“The announcement by Russia that it’s suspending participation is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible,” Blinken told reporters in Athens. “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.”
Cautioning the United States that it was stoking the war into a global conflict, Putin said that Russia was suspending participation in the New START Treaty, the last major arms control treaty between Moscow and Washington..
“I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,” said Putin.
The Russian leader said, without citing evidence, that some people in Washington were thinking about resuming nuclear testing. Russia’s defence ministry and nuclear corporation should therefore be ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if necessary, he said.
