On the afternoon of this Tuesday, President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, announced that he will promulgate the suspension of the agreement signed with the United States for the control and supervision of strategic weapons with nuclear potential, better known as START III, which was suspended by the the Russians on February 21.
During that week, the diplomacy of both countries was open to dialogue to regain the support of the two powers in the nuclear weapons agreement. However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov said it was a difficult decision but “they saw no other alternative”, while US President Joe Biden declared in Warsaw that this decision was “a serious mistake”.
This measure by Moscow has generated concern for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN), which since Putin’s announcement have called for a return to dialogue as soon as possible. “More nuclear weapons and less arms control make the world a more dangerous place,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenber.
Even on Monday, US Assistant Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins claimed that Russia is currently proving that it is not a responsible nuclear power. Jenkins stated that the world is facing a dramatically unstable security landscape.
In addition, Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, declared last week that Russia’s action is a “very irresponsible act”, but affirmed that so far “the door of dialogue” remains open to reach an agreement with START. III.
“We will be very attentive to what Russia does (…) We will make sure that we position ourselves in an appropriate way for the security of our own country,” said the Secretary of State.