The Duma International Affairs Committee on Wednesday recommended to the lower house to pass a bill on suspending Russia's participation in the Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START, New START). Leonid Slutsky, head of the committee, told reporters.
"The Committee on International Affairs unanimously recommended adopting the bill on suspending the START Treaty. The issue is proposed for consideration at today's plenary session," he said.
The document was submitted to the State Duma by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Under the bill, the START Treaty shall be suspended, and the decision on the resumption of Russia's participation in the treaty will be made by the Russian president. The law shall enter into force on the date of its official publication.
The treaty was signed between Russia and the US, it provides for the reduction of the nuclear arsenals of both countries. Putin announced his decision to suspend Russia's participation in START on Tuesday in his address to the Federal Assembly. Putin said that Russia was not withdrawing from the treaty; however, before discussing the continuation of work under the document, Russia should understand for itself how START will take into account the arsenals not only of the US, but also of other NATO nuclear powers - the UK and France.
For its part, the Russian foreign ministry noted in its statement that Russia's decision to suspend its participation in New START is reversible and called on Washington "to show political will and make good faith efforts for general de-escalation and the creation of conditions for the resumption of full-fledged functioning of the treaty. The ministry also clarified that Russia, despite the decision to suspend START, will continue to observe the quantitative restrictions stipulated by it for the period of its validity.
In addition, the Russian side will continue to participate in the exchange of notifications with Washington on the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles on the basis of the agreement between the USSR and US in 1988, the ministry notes. The foreign ministry also added that Russia intends to closely monitor further actions of the United States and its allies "both in the field of START and in the field of international security and strategic stability in general, and to analyze them with regard to damage to Russian interests" and the need for additional countermeasures on Moscow's part.
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Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS