Amid escalating tensions and following the suspension of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), Russia has maintained that any use of its nuclear arsenal would only occur under extraordinary circumstances, strictly for defense.
The treaty was a bilateral agreement between the United States and Russia aimed at reducing nuclear arms. It establishes specific limitations on the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads, bringing it down to 1,550.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, addressed the issue at a news briefing during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
“The hypothetical use of nuclear weapons is clearly limited by extraordinary circumstances within the framework of strictly defensive purposes,” Zakharova stated, underscoring Russia’s commitment to a strictly defensive nuclear deterrence policy.
The spokeswoman went on to emphasize Moscow’s commitment to the principle of non-aggression in terms of nuclear warfare, citing its potentially devastating consequences.
“There can be no winners in it. It must never be unleashed. We consistently call on all other parties to the joint statement of the leaders of the five nuclear states on the prevention of nuclear war and the inadmissibility of an arms race to adhere to these postulates,” she stressed.
Zakharova also mentioned the possibility of Russia reinstating the New START treaty, given the right conditions.
According to her, this could only happen if the Biden administration “shows the political will and exerts efforts to ease tensions and de-escalate and create conditions for the resumption of the full functioning of the treaty.”
On Tuesday, Biden approved another $325 million aid package for Ukraine.
It was on February 21 when Russian President Vladimir Putin first announced that Russia was suspending, but not entirely withdrawing from, the New START treaty.
Putin emphasized that further discussions on the treaty’s continuation could only take place once there was a clear understanding of how it accounted for the arsenals not just of the United States, but also of NATO’s other nuclear powers, namely the United Kingdom and France.
The official suspension of Russia’s participation in the New START treaty took effect on March 1, following Putin’s signing of the respective law.
