The United States of America sees no change in the readiness of Russia’s nuclear forces. This was stated by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday, February 23.
“We don’t see any changes in Russia’s nuclear posture, and we haven’t made any changes to the readiness of our own forces,” he said on air. CNN.
Sullivan added that Washington maintains regular channels of communication with the Russian government.
On February 21, during his address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). He stressed that this is precisely the suspension, and not the withdrawal from the treaty. At the same time, the head of state said that before returning to the discussion of START, the country must understand how to take into account the nuclear arsenals of France and Great Britain.
On the same day, the Russian leader submitted a draft law on this to the State Duma, which was adopted. Then the document was unanimously adopted by the Federation Council.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the development of the situation with Russia’s suspension of START depends entirely on the United States. He also suggested that the American side may withdraw from the treaty, but it is not easy to predict its further steps.
The agreement between the Russian Federation and the United States on measures to reduce and limit strategic offensive arms was signed on April 8, 2010 in Prague. The document replaced the 1991 START Treaty. Upon entry into force, it also replaced the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty. This START agreement was worked out on a parity basis in accordance with the principle of equal and indivisible security and provided for real, verifiable and irreversible reductions in strategic offensive arms.
In February 2021, Putin and American leader Joe Biden, during a personal meeting, extended the agreement for five years.
