Commentary
Russia is suspending its nuclear treaty with the United States while China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, visits Moscow amid rumors of China possibly providing weapons to Russia for the war in Ukraine.
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to potentially use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine. During his annual State of the Nation address to Russia’s National Assembly on Feb. 21, Putin announced that Moscow would no longer abide by the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining agreement limiting the deployment of intercontinental-range nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia.
The last time the treaty was up for renewal was in 2021, when Putin agreed to extend it for another five years. The treaty allowed the two countries to conduct inspections of each other’s weapon sites. This was paused in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions. But since the lifting of restrictions, Moscow has simply refused to allow Washington to inspect its nuclear weapons….