Russia threatens ‘further countermeasures’ after suspending key nuclear arms deal

Sergei Ryabkov said Russia would be ‘monitoring’ the US

Russia has said it will consider taking “further countermeasures” against the US and its allies after it suspended its participation in a key nuclear arms deal.

President Vladimir Putin announced the country is suspending the new START treaty on Tuesday.

His deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has now said Russia will be “monitoring” the US to decide whether to launch further action.

He said: “We will, of course, be closely monitoring the further actions of the United States and its allies, including with a view to taking further countermeasures, if necessary.”

Mr Putin announced Russia will no longer comply with the agreement, which limits participating countries’ nuclear capabilities, in a lengthy state of the nation address - in which he also blamed the West for the war in Ukraine.

“In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” he said.

Asked in what circumstances Russia would return to the deal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Everything will depend on the position of the West... When there’s a willingness to take into account our concerns, then the situation will change.”

The 2010 treaty limits each country’s deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550 and obliges each to provide details about their respective deployments. It also allows each side the right to inspect each other’s sites, though visits have been paused since 2020 because of Covid and the war.

Moscow is not withdrawing from the agreement altogether, but is suspending its participation, Mr Putin said. Russia also said it would continue to abide by the limits on the number of warheads it can deploy.

President Putin (Sputnik)

Mr Ryabokov also said that British and French nuclear weapons targeted against Russia should be included in the arms control framework, according to the TASS news agency.

“We will obviously pay special attention to what line and what decisions London and Paris are taking, which can no longer, even hypothetically, be considered outside of the Russian-U.S. dialogue on nuclear arms control,” he said.

Responding to the news, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said the decision was “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible”.

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said it made the world more dangerous and urged Mr Putin to reconsider.

Speaking at a press conference, he said: “It is President Putin who started this imperial war of conquest ... As Putin made clear today, he’s preparing for more war ... Putin must not win ... It would be dangerous for our own security and the whole world.”

“I regret the decision by Russia to suspend its participation in a new START programme.”

Meanwhile Mr Putin’s speech came a day after US president Joe Biden visited Ukraine and pledged a half-billion dollars of additional military aid to the war-torn country.