Lavrov: US arguments about Russia’s suspension of START are legally null and void

Washington’s arguments regarding Moscow’s decision to suspend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) are legally null and void. This was stated TASS Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“They write notes to us, protest and say that we have no right to make the decision that we have made. These are all legally insignificant arguments,” – said the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Lavrov noted that the Russian side made it very clear in the speech of the head of state Vladimir Putin and in the statement of the country’s Foreign Ministry that the United States undermined the fundamental principles of the New START Treaty. According to him, there is no need to convince anyone that all these principles have been desecrated and rejected by the current US administration.

“(USA – Approx. REN TV) undermined the fundamental principles on which the treaty is based and which are set out in the preamble, which explicitly states that Russia and the United States will develop relations of cooperation based on mutual trust, mutual respect, and will ensure the indivisibility of security in the context of their efforts to maintain strategic stability,” Sergey Lavrov concluded.

On March 15, the US State Department stated that Russia’s suspension of participation in the New START was allegedly “not legally justified.” They believe that the Russian side is allegedly still bound by the terms of the START.

Recall, on February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Federation was suspending the New START. The head of state stressed that the United States declares its intention to inflict a “strategic defeat” on the Russian Federation, but at the same time, within the framework of control missions, insists on access to Russian nuclear facilities.

START is a 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.

The Russian Foreign Ministry commented on Russia’s withdrawal from the treaty and noted that the reason for this was the US policy, which is contrary to the fundamental principles of the New START Treaty.