Russian Federation Council unanimously approves New START suspension

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Feb 17:42

The decision to restore the treaty will rest upon Russia's President.

In this handout photo released by The State Duma, The Federal Assembly of The Russian Federation, Russian lawmakers attend a session at the State Duma, the Lower House of the Russian Parliament in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 (The State Duma, The Federal Assembly of The Russian Federation via AP)

Russian News Agency TASS reported on Wednesday that the Federation Council has unanimously passed the presidential bill on suspending the New START treaty.

The bill was first introduced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and to the State Duma for first approval on Tuesday.

The bill was approved earlier today by the Duma and was then sent to the Federation Council for a second approval.

With the Council's approval, and once the law is officially published, the bill will enter into full effect.

The New START Treaty is officially suspended but does not imply Russia's withdrawal from it.

The decision to restore the treaty will rest upon Russia's President.

The US has issued an intolerable ultimatum to Russia on the New START treaty: Moscow must comply with the document's requirements, while Washington will do whatever it wants, as per what the Russian President said in his speech on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Putin described NATO's demand that Russia returns to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), which includes providing access to nuclear sites for inspections, as "absurd", that the inspections the West wanted to carry out on Russia's defense facilities posed an obvious risk to Russia's security, and that the drones used for this purpose were "equipped and modernized with the assistance of NATO specialists," the President added.

Earlier today, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said that the world is heading toward a global conflict if the United States is planning to defeat Russia, and Moscow will use all means necessary, including nuclear weapons, to defend itself.

"It is obvious to all the powers that be that if the US wants to defeat Russia, we are heading for a conflict on a global scale. If the US wants to defeat Russia, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapon, including of the nuclear kind," Medvedev said on his Telegram channel.