News from the Financial Associated Press, February 23 (edited by Xia Junxiong)NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday (February 23) local time that NATO will pay close attention to Russia’s nuclear weapons activities after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Putin announced that Russia would temporarily suspend its participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and that if the U.S. conducts a nuclear test, Russia will conduct a reciprocal nuclear test. Russia will not be the first to conduct a nuclear test.
The Council of Russia and the State Duma unanimously passed a bill to suspend implementation of the New START Treaty on Wednesday.
Stoltenberg said in an interview with the media on Thursday: “This is a reckless decision because we need arms control, we need transparency. A world without nuclear arms control agreements may lead to more nuclear weapons (emergence) .”
The New START Treaty sets a cap on the number of strategic nuclear warheads deployed by the United States and Russia, that is, no more than 1,550. Russia and the United States together account for about 90% of the world‘s nuclear warheads.
With the expiration of the US-Russia INF Treaty in 2019, the New START has become the only arms control treaty between the two nuclear powers. In February 2021, Russia and the United States extended the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty for five years, and the agreement will expire on February 5, 2026.
Stoltenberg said Russia had invested heavily in new, modernized nuclear capabilities in recent years and NATO was taking the necessary steps to ensure its deterrent remained safe and credible.
Asked when Finland and Sweden would become NATO members, Stoltenberg said he saw some encouraging signs after meeting the country’s President Erdogan in Turkey last week.
“I think it’s entirely possible that Finland will get ratification in the near future, while Sweden has more challenges to resolve,” he said.
Stoltenberg added that Erdogan had agreed to a meeting between Sweden, Finland and Turkey at NATO headquarters in late March. He revealed that his aim is to make Finland and Sweden full members ahead of the NATO summit scheduled for July 11-12 in Lithuania.