FSB director Alexander Bortnikov was unaware of President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend participation in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). According to Alexander Bortnikov, this decision indicates a reformatting of political relations.
“The President himself worked on this document. There is a process of reformatting relations — strategic, geopolitical,” said the director of the FSB (quote from NTV).
The President announced the suspension of participation in START during the announcement of the message to the Federal Assembly, saying that the United States rejected Russian applications for START. The suspension of participation in the agreement was approved by the State Duma and the Federation Council.
START (or START-3) was signed in 2010 by Russian and US Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama. The document limits the number of nuclear warheads each and ballistic missiles in the arsenals of countries. In the winter of 2021, the contract was extended until February 5, 2026.
Read more in the publication “Kommersant” “Strategic offensive disturbances.”