Biden strongly criticizes Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New START treaty
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday again criticized Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New START treaty to limit nuclear weapons, stressing at the same time that there is no indication that Moscow intends to use atomic weapons.
During an interview with him in Poland conducted by the ABC news network, the US President said, commenting on the recent Russian decision, “It is a grave mistake, which doesn’t reflect a great deal of responsibility”.
Biden had made a brief comment to this effect prior to his meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the leaders of nine Central and Eastern European countries that are members of the alliance.
The US president said Moscow’s decision didn’t indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin “is considering using nuclear weapons or anything like that”.
On Tuesday, Putin announced the suspension of his country’s participation in the Russian-US New START treaty to limit nuclear weapons, in a decision approved by the Russian parliament on Wednesday.
Signed in 2010, the treaty is the last existing bilateral treaty between Russia and the United States that obligates the two superpowers to reduce their arsenals of nuclear warheads.
Putin’s announcement was met with international condemnation, although the Russian Foreign Ministry later announced that Moscow would continue to comply responsibly with the restrictions imposed by the treaty, which was extended until February 2026.
Speaking to ABC News, Biden expressed confidence that a solution could be found.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the Russian decision as very unfortunate and irresponsible, but stressed that the United States was still ready for dialogue on this issue.
