Russian President Vladimir Putin suspends participation in nuclear treaty with US
Moscow, February 21: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States. Notably, it is the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States which limits the two sides' strategic nuclear arsenals. "We are going to do as we please," he said in his speech.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his state-of-the-nation address, said Russia was suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty.
Earlier, he blamed West over Ukraine war. He said "western countries led by the US were seeking "unlimited power".
The Russian President accused the US and its NATO allies of openly declaring the goal of Russia's defeat in Ukraine. “They want to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time," Putin was reported as saying.
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The treaty was signed in Prague in 2010. It came into force the next year and was extended in 2021 for five more years.
Notably, Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. Russia and the US together holds 90 per cent of the world's nuclear warheads, which is enough to destroy the planet.
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- With inputs from agencies
