Vladimir Putin signs law suspending Russia’s participation in New START treaty

A law suspending Russia’s participation in the New START treaty has been signed by President Vladimir Putin.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law suspending Russia’s participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). The document was published today, Tuesday, February 28.

The law comes into force on the day of its official publication.

According to the federal law “On International Treaties of the Russian Federation”, the president can suspend the operation of an international treaty, the decision on consent to be bound by which was approved by federal law. The head of state can do this in cases requiring urgent action, with the obligatory immediate notification of the Federation Council and the State Duma and the submission of the relevant bill to the State Duma.

The Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Arms between Russia and the United States was signed in Prague on April 8, 2010. It is commonly known as START, START-3, or the Prague Treaty. It was designed to run for 10 years (until February 2021) with the possibility of an extension for a period of not more than five years and included a withdrawal clause.

Each of the parties, according to the terms of the document, was to reduce their nuclear arsenals in seven years. After that point, the total number of weapons would not exceed 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles, ballistic missiles on submarines and heavy bombers. It also had a limit of 1,550 warheads and 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers.

On February 3, 2021, Russia and the United States exchanged notes on the completion of the internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of an agreement to extend the term of the treaty for five years.

Russia informed the United States on August 8, 2022, of the temporary withdrawal of its facilities from START inspection. As the Russian Foreign Ministry explained, this was a forced decision taken against the backdrop of the anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the West after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, as reported by tass.ru.

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