Feb. 21 (UPI) — President Vladimir Putin announced Monday in his state of the nation report that Russia will end its participation in the New START nuclear aid treaty with the United States, while accusing Washington and its allies of escalating the war in Ukraine.
“No one has the ghost that global strategic parity can be violated,” Putin said.
Earlier this month, State Department officials said Russia would not fulfill its obligations under the treaty.
The Kremlin’s Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy justification of Putin’s resolution accusing the U. S. of being a major issuer. UU. de to renege on their day-to-day work under the treaty, escalating the standoff in Ukraine and pursuing a policy aimed at undermining Russia’s national security.
Russia’s resolve is reversible, he said, but only if the United States shows “political will, makes clever religious efforts to defuse and create the situations for a full resumption of the treaty and ensure its full viability. “
Although the treaty is suspended, the ministry said Russia would exceed its limit on deployable nuclear weapons and exchange ficings with the United States on intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that Russia’s resolution “is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible” and that he is “watching to see what Russia is doing. “
“Of course, we remain in a position to communicate about strategic arms limitations at any time with Russia, regardless of what happens in the world or in our relations,” he said.
In his speech to Russia’s Federal Assembly, Putin described Ukraine as “historically Russian lands,” and accused Ukraine’s allies in the west of keeping Donbass, which includes the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in eastern Ukraine, away from the people.
“The elite of the West hides its ambitions, which are to strategically defeat Russia,” Putin said in his speech. “What does this mean? It means ending once and for all. “
“They do this by turning local conflicts into much broader conflicts. “
Putin reiterated that Russia forced Ukraine to invade to protect its own country and that the Kremlin had done “everything possible” to save it. He blamed the West for moving away from “terrorist activities” in eastern Ukraine opposed to his supporters.
The Russian leader delivered his speech a day after US President Joe Biden made a wonderful stopover in Kiev to meet with Ukrainian President Volomydyr Zelensky and promise more for Ukraine.
During his speech, Putin accused the Ukrainian government of being under the cover of “Western teachers” and of serving the interests of its citizens.
“The Kiev regime and its Western masters have completely taken over the country’s economy,” Putin said. “They destroyed Ukrainian industry and economy. They are to blame for the escalating scenario in Ukraine. . . of the huge number of victims. “
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg categorically rejected Putin’s description of the clash at a news conference later Tuesday in which he said it was the Russian president “who started this imperial war of conquest. “
“No one is attacking Rusia. La Russia is the aggressor. Ukraine is the one of aggression,” he told a news conference from NATO headquarters in Brussels with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. . .
With Russia’s suspension of New START, the entire foreign arms architecture “has been dismantled,” he said, which, combined with the termination of previous agreements, “makes the world more dangerous. “
The European Union also issued a statement “deploring” Putin’s resolution to suspend the pact, which the 27-nation bloc considers “a very important contribution” to its external security.