Russia Speaks Up About Nuclear War

Russia’s decision to suspend its participation in the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US will not increase the risk of a nuclear war, Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said.

Both chambers of Russia’s parliament voted today in favour of Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend the treaty.

Interfax news agency has quoted Ryabkov as saying:

I do not believe that the decision to suspend the New Start Treaty brings us closer to nuclear war.

Meanwhile, a senior Russian defence official said Moscow will stick to agreed limits on nuclear missiles and keep informing the US about changes in its deployments, despite the treaty’s suspension.

A top defence ministry official, Maj-Gen Yevgeny Ilyin, told the Duma that Russia would continue to observe agreed restrictions on nuclear delivery systems - meaning missiles and strategic bomber planes, Russian state-owned Ria news agency reported.

Russia would also continue to provide the US with notifications on nuclear deployments in order “to prevent false alarms, which is important for maintaining strategic stability”, Ilyin was quoted as saying.