Putin’s move, announcing the suspension of Russia’s participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), provoked a negative reaction in the United States, NATO, the European Union and in a number of country.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called the move irresponsible and deeply regrettable. According to him, the United States will closely monitor the real steps of Russia.”In any case, we will of course take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of our country and our allies,” Blinken said.
Recall that President Vladimir Putin announced only the suspension of Russia’s participation in the START treaty, but not the withdrawal from the treaty. He did so as part of his traditional speech to the Federal Assembly. Putin also ordered the Russian Defense Ministry and Rosatom to prepare for nuclear tests.
Andrey Kolesnikov, senior researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (USA), in an interview with the Russian service media, called Putin’s speech a “sedative message”. According to him, Putin deliberately focused not on increasing anxiety in society, but on reducing it. “Hence the relatively ‘peaceful’ agenda, the frequent references to welfare, etc.”
“Certainly, the statement on the suspension of Russia’s participation in the START treaty, on the contrary, is a very hostile signal,” he said. – This is the only important news that sounded in the message, but it was also quite expected. Nothing else could be expected from Putin in the current situation. He needs to scare the West…”
In Putin’s speech there were also a lot of distortions and “shameless lies”, which have become almost a tradition, said Andrey Kolesnikov: “This also applies to the claim that we were attacked, and we are only defending ourselves. No one attacked Russia and was not going to. In general, everything he accused the West of can be attributed mainly to himself … ”
The main conclusion that emerges from the Russian leader’s speech is that there is no hope of restoring relations with the West, the political scientist stressed. It seems to him that Putin is determined to continue the war at all costs.
“At the same time, he expanded the concept and meaning (in the Kremlin’s interpretation) of the word ‘victory,’ he said. – The Russian authorities want to achieve this not only in the war, but also in the sciences, economics, etc. This demagogy targets the lower middle classes, social recipients and potential source of cannon fodder.One can also see here the isolation of the realities of Putin himself, but it is difficult to say whether it’s faked or not. The president should be optimistic. And in some ways, he’s still shared by Putin’s “iron” electorate.”
A significant part of the Russian people shares “militaristic enthusiasm”, and non-conformism is becoming the norm in the country, summed up Andrei Kolesnikov.
Putin’s statement on START has several elements: a personal, political and technical expert on Central and Eastern Europe, according to political commentator Ivan Preobrazhensky. “The technical dimension is that many Western politicians and even pundits have started saying that not only is Moscow not ready to use nuclear weapons, but that it may not have anything to use. Indeed, nobody knows the state of the Russian nuclear arsenal. It is possible that it is, to some extent, a mystery for the Kremlin as well. To clarify the situation, tests must be carried out, and everything is going in this direction, judging by the message to Putin.
Russia must demonstrate that it keeps the gunpowder dry, and this is already a political dimension, continued Ivan Preobrazhensky: “It is important that Moscow convinces everyone that its blackmail is not an empty word when she talks about her willingness to use the tactic. nuclear weapons. Among other things, for Putin personally, the topic of START itself is a constant challenge, as it involves negotiations. And the Americans, in principle, used it well. It is possible that Putin’s entourage also tried to use sham negotiations (with the West) in late 2021 – early 2022 to seat the President at a round table and thus prevent a war (with Ukraine). Now there are attempts to use the topic of START to resume negotiations with the Americans, to maintain constant formal diplomatic contact with them … ”
Putin’s paranoia, most likely, tells him that this is directed, among other things, at him, the Observer suggested. “In general, since 2021, he does not believe in any negotiation, and the subject of negotiation itself infuriates him. Putin’s position on this issue is well known: the only possible negotiations are those he engages in on his own terms. This is why he announced the suspension of START,” he summarized.

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