Explained: What is the New START nuclear arms treaty

Putin, earlier in February, had expressed that he was keen to uphold the treaty

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS  Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Tuesday that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START treaty the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States sharply upping the ante amid tensions with Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.

Speaking in his state-of-the-nation address, Putin also said that Russia should stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the U.S. does so, a move that would end a global ban on nuclear weapons tests in place since the end of the Cold War.

Explaining his decision to suspend Russia's obligations under the 2010 New START treaty, Putin accused the US and its NATO allies of openly declaring the goal of Russia's defeat in Ukraine.

START stands for Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and is also known as START-I. It was signed between the US and the USSR in 1991 and came into force in 1994. with the suspension of START, Washington and Moscow will no longer have an arms control treaty between them.

This means that Russia no longer allows the US or its NATO allies to conduct on-site inspections of its nuclear weaponry.

"I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty," he told Reuters. “Our relations have degraded and that’s completely and utterly the US’s fault,” Putin added.

With START-1, the number of nuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that each side could deploy at 6,000 and 1,600 respectively. START-1 lapsed in 2009. in 2010, a New START agreement was signed between Barack Obama and his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. It came into force in 2011 and in 2021 when Biden came into office it was extended for five more years. Under this treaty, inspectors from both sides can ensure that the US and Russia are complying with the treaty. Each year, both US and Russia can conduct 18 inspections of strategic nuclear weapons sites.

Under the New START agreement US and Russia cannot deploy more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads and a maximum of 700 long-range missiles and bombers, a Reuters report reads. US and Russia account for about 90 per cent.

President Donald Trump tried to renegotiate a New treaty between the US and Russia over nuclear arms control. But it didn't gain momentum. Since the treaty was extended, it has had a troubled start as on-site inspections were halted as part of the COVID-19 global restrictions. Russia's ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov, “Russia remains committed to the goals of the New START treaty” it would not restart on-site inspections as Russia considered it “unjustified, untimely and inappropriate to invite the US military to our strategic facilities” while the US supported Ukraine, CNBC reported.

Putin, in his address yesterday said that  Russia will once again take part in the treaty if the US and its allies hold talks on the war with Russia, without participation by Ukraine.

Putin, earlier in February, had expressed that he was keen to uphold the treaty despite what Russia called a destructive approach towards arms control by the US.