Putin to promptly submit to parliament a document on the suspension of START

Vladimir Putin will promptly submit to parliament for approval a document stating that Russia’s participation in the START will be suspended, said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian president.

“This will require the issuance of a presidential document. And based on the fact that this treaty was once ratified by the Russian parliament, approval in parliament will be required”he said in an interview with TASS.

When asked when exactly the document would be submitted by the president for consideration, the Kremlin spokesman replied “as soon as it is ready, promptly.”

Earlier, Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in the Treaty on the reduction of nuclear weapons during the announcement of the message to the Federal Assembly on February 21. The head of state drew attention to the fact that Moscow may return to the discussion of the treaty, but for this a number of issues need to be clarified.

On February 1, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, stated that Russia remains committed to the New START Treaty. Moscow, he said, is going to continue to comply with the restrictions of the treaty. The Kremlin also drew attention to the fact that the United States is giving few hints about the extension of START, but it is very important.

START is the only Russian-American nuclear arms control regime. The Biden administration extended it until 2026, the parties began agreeing on the parameters of a future agreement on the limitation of nuclear weapons, but after the start of the special operation they interrupted the dialogue.