Iran Press/ Europe: Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia was not withdrawing from the treaty but the suspension further imperils the last remaining pillar of arms control between the United States and Russia, which holds nearly 90% of the world's nuclear warheads - enough to destroy the planet many times over.
"In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty," Putin told lawmakers towards the end of a major speech to parliament, nearly one year into the war in Ukraine.
According to the Russian head of state, Washington had put forth an unacceptable ultimatum to Russia concerning the New START.
Vladimir Putin also told the Federal Assembly that there was information that the United States was considering the possibility of full-scale tests of their nuclear weapons, adding that the Russian Ministry of Defense and Rosatom must be ready to test Russian nuclear weapons if Washington really does conduct the test first.
Russia Not At War With Ukrainians
As anticipated, in his address the Russian president predominantly focused on the situation in Ukraine, where Russia has been conducting a special military operation since February 24, 2022. Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia was not at war with the people of the neighboring country.
Putin said that Russia had done everything possible to solve the Donbas problem by peaceful means. However, a year ago Russia was forced to step in to “protect people living in Russia’s historic lands, to eliminate the threat of the Nazi regime" that hung over the region, whose people had been "fighting for their right to live on their own land, speak in their native language" since the 2014 coup in Ukraine that was backed by the West.
As far as the ongoing military operation in Ukraine was concerned, Putin assured that "step by step, we will carefully and consistently solve the tasks facing us."
Western Elites a 'Symbol of Unprincipled Lies'
On a broader scale, Vladimir Putin pointed out that Russia had spent many years seeking a constructive dialogue with the West. However, all attempts to propose an equality-based system of joint security were met with a "hypocritical" response. Putin accused the US and its allies of playing the "same double game" in the current proxy war against Russia in Ukraine as they had in the case of other countries.
The Western elites have become "a symbol of totally unprincipled lies," the Russian president said, underscoring how from the expansion of NATO towards Russia’s borders to deploying secret Biolabs in its proximity, the US and its allies had been purposefully gearing up to use Ukraine as a tool in a “big war.”
West Opens 'Economic Front' Against Russia
The West drummed up sweeping sanctions against Moscow over its operation in Ukraine, but failed to "cripple" Russia's economy, Putin stated. In fact, the punitive measures have had a boomerang effect, punishing their masterminds, and generating an energy crisis.
As many Western countries are facing runaway inflation, in Russia it is set to approach the target level of 4% in the second quarter of 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
While Western countries went on their sanctions rampage against Russia, hoping to crash the ruble, the country ensured that the share of the domestic currency in foreign trade payments doubled over the past year, amounting to a third, the Russian president said, adding that "given the currencies of friendly countries, this is more than half."
207
Read more:
US rejects Putin's proposal to extend nuclear arms treaty
