Russia Says ‘No Longer Bound’ By Last Nuclear Treaty with US

Russia said on Wednesday it was “no longer bound” by New START, a nuclear treaty with the United States that is set to expire on February 5.

“We assume that the parties to the New START treaty are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations within the context of the treaty,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The New START agreement will end Thursday, formally releasing both Moscow and Washington from a raft of restrictions on their nuclear arsenals.

UN chief Antonio Guterres urged the United States and Russia to quickly sign a new nuclear deal, as the existing treaty was set to expire in a “grave moment for international peace and security.”

“For the first time in more than half a century, we face a world without any binding limits on the strategic nuclear arsenals of the Russian Federation and the United States of America,” Mr. Guterres said in a statement.

Meanwhile, China said on Thursday it would not join nuclear talks “at this stage” after the expiry of the US-Russian START treaty triggered fears of a global arms race.

“China’s nuclear capabilities are of a totally different scale as those of the United States and Russia (and) will not participate in nuclear disarmament negotiations at this stage,” Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a news conference. (AFP)