The UN Secretary-General urged the US and Russia to resume full implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) after the Russian President announced the suspension of Moscow’s participation.
“The United States and Russia must resume full implementation of New START without delay. New START brought peace not only to the United States and Russia, but also to the entire international community,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, told the press this Tuesday.
According to the spokesman for Guterres, “a world without nuclear weapons control is much more dangerous and unstable, with potentially catastrophic consequences”, which is why he reiterated the need to spare no effort to return to dialogue.
“It is vital that the high-level engagement between the world’s two most powerful nuclear powers continues, which is why we call for a resumption of full implementation of the New START Treaty by all parties,” Dujarric told the media.
The Russian President announced on Tuesday the suspension of the treaty on nuclear weapons signed with the United States, saying that it was not a matter of “abandonment” of the agreement and arguing that the country “must be prepared to carry out nuclear tests if the United States perform first”.
Moscow’s decision quickly drew international criticism, including from the Ukrainian authorities, who urged the international community to take “urgent joint measures to prevent and combat any form of nuclear blackmail by the terrorist state”.
*With Lusa
