Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has called Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend participation in New START, a nuclear arms reduction treaty, “irresponsible”, as per Reuters.
"The announcement by Russia that it’s suspending participation is deeply unfortunate and irresponsible. We’ll be watching carefully to see what Russia actually does. We’ll of course make sure that in any event, we are postured appropriately for the security of our own country and that of our allies,” Blinken said during a press conference in Athens.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, also commented on the matter earlier today. “More nuclear weapons and less arms control makes the world more dangerous,” he said. Stoltenberg called on Russia to reconsider its decision.
EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell reacted to the news, too, and said that Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the treaty destroys the international security system.
“The decision made by Russia on the START Treaty destroys the system of international security created after the Cold War,” he said. “After this decision, the EU has to think about new measures in international security,” he added after talks with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister and NATO Secretary General in Brussels.