US President Joe Biden on Wednesday disapproved of Moscow’s decision to suspend the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the two powers. In a speech to lawmakers the day prior, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the move was in response to “unacceptable” and cynical moves by the West.
Biden was wrapping up his visit to Ukraine and Poland with a photo-op in Warsaw when one of the reporters shouted a question about the treaty.
“I don’t have time,” the US president said at first. Pausing, he said, “big mistake.”
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known in the US as ‘New START’ and in Russia as ‘SNV-III’, was originally signed in 2010. Biden had agreed to extend it through 2026 during his first week in office. The US had previously withdrawn from the INF and Open Skies treaties, leaving New START as the last arms control agreement standing.
