By Sydney Dalske
Russia’s President Vladmir Putin declared early in the year of 2023 that Moscow was suspending its participation in the START Treaty. This claimed suspension is unlawful in the eyes of the US. This treaty is the last remaining arms control act between the two nations and will drastically increase the tensions of the fighting going on in Ukraine.
Putin has also said that it is ready to resume its nuclear weapons test if the U.S. begins to as well. This would obliterate the global ban on nuclear weapon testing that has been in place since the end of the Cold War 30 years ago.
Russia has been a part of this treaty since 2010 but Putin defends his claims against obliging it since the US has openly declared having a goal of Russia’s defeat within Ukraine. The document that has been sent to the Russian parliament states both the suspension of Russia in the treaty and also that the president is the only person who could resume Moscow’s participation in it in the future.
The U.S. department of state says that Russia has stopped sending its mandatory notifications on the status and movement of their nuclear forces and also is refusing inspections which weakens nuclear stability globally.
Countermeasures that the US has taken since this include the treaties data and notifications from Russia and refusing Russian inspections on US territory. All of these countermeasures have been done legally and are easily reversible if Russia partakes fully in the treaty again.
This may be plausible because Putin has stated he is not withdrawing from the treaty fully. The Russian Foreign MInistry says that they will respect the caps on nuclear weapons laid out in the treaty along with exchanging information about their test launches for ballistic missiles as previously agreed.
While US procedures remain fully compliant with the treaty and are ready to discuss with Russia issues concerning implementation of the treaty, it is still a fact that the war in Ukraine is not a valid nor legal reason for Russia to not comply with certain aspects of the new START treaty.
These actions will not stop the US from fully supporting Ukraine in their fight, but will continue to work on maintaining nuclear stability globally as a top priority.
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