US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin | File photo | photo credit: AFP
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered fresh criticism of Russia’s suspension of a key nuclear treaty, but stressed that there was no sign Moscow was moving closer to actually using a nuclear weapon.
“It’s a big mistake to do that, not very responsible,” Biden said. ABC News In an interview in Poland, he expanded on the brief remarks before meeting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Eastern European leaders in Warsaw.
“But I haven’t read that he’s thinking about using nuclear weapons or anything like that,” the US president said.
Russia suspends only remaining major nuclear deal with US
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of Moscow’s participation in the New START arms treaty during an address to the nation on Tuesday – a decision that Russian lawmakers approved on Wednesday.
The 2010 deal, the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the two rival nuclear powers, committed them to limit their stockpiles of nuclear weapons.
Mr Putin’s announcement of the treaty was met with widespread international condemnation, although Russia’s foreign ministry later said Moscow would continue to comply with the treaty’s restrictions in a “responsible” manner until it expires in February 2026.
Mr. Biden told ABC News He was “confident that we would be able to make it work,” without elaborating.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russia’s decision “deeply unfortunate and irresponsible”, but said Washington was still willing to talk on the issue.