For now, Russia plans to suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty. This was announced by the Russian president Wladimir Putin in his speech to the nation, in which he blamed the West for the war in Ukraine. The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, short New START Treaty, is the last remaining comprehensive arms control treaty between the two nuclear powers Russia and the U.S. The treaty was signed in 2010 and limits the numbers of strategic nuclear weapons of both countries as well as the delivery systems that are required for the use of these weapons. Dr Ulrich Kühn, Head of Arms Control and New Technologies at the IFSH, warns of the consequences this suspension could have:
“The Russian „suspension“ of the New Start Treaty is completely irresponsible and dangerous. It marks the end of the bilateral nuclear arms control era. Once again, Russia is showing that it will continue the war of aggression against Ukraine – no matter what – even at the cost of arms control. And so, the world is facing a new age of insecurity. Without this Treaty and its transparency, limitation, and communication measures, predictability and global stability will continue to decline. Even China, which is upgrading its nuclear weapons, cannot approve this development, as Beijing has always benefited from the limitations of the U.S. and Russia. However, the U.S. Secretary of State Blinken immediately announced that the U.S. would continue to abide by the treaty. This is at least an encouraging sign. The Russian Foreign Office made similar announcements. The future will show whether these last voluntary measures are sufficient to prevent a new arms race.”
For further questions, please contact Dr Ulrich Kühn by email (kuehn@ifsh.de) or by phone: +49 40 86 60 77 41.
You can download the IFSH press release from 22nd February 2023 here as a pdf.