Moscow suspends work with “START” … and Washington praises the strength of “NATO”
Wednesday – 1 Shaaban 1444 AH – 22 February 2023 AD Issue Number [16157]
Moscow: Raed Jabr, Washington: Ali Barada
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden exchanged words yesterday, on the eve of the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. In his annual speech to parliament yesterday morning, Putin stressed that “Russia’s defeat is impossible,” hinting that an appropriate deal will be made regarding turning the conflict in Ukraine into a global confrontation. He said that the West fueled the Ukrainian war with the aim of “ending Russia.” Putin also announced the suspension of his country’s implementation of the “New START” treaty on measures to further reduce and limit strategic offensive (nuclear) weapons with the United States, which means that the world is entering a new phase of the arms race. Immediately, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken responded to the decision to suspend Russia’s work with the START treaty, saying that it was “very unfortunate and irresponsible.”
Putin in his annual speech to parliament yesterday (Archyde.com)
In turn, the US President, in a speech delivered yesterday evening, from a particularly symbolic place in the Polish capital, heavily blamed his Russian counterpart, describing the US commitment to NATO and Ukraine as “steel in the battle of freedom against tyranny.”
In his speech from the gardens of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Biden highlighted the commitment of the United States, Poland and other allies to Ukraine, recalling his speech last March from the same place. “When Russia invaded, it was not just Ukraine that was being tested,” he said. The whole world faced a test,” stressing that “America’s national interest and Europe’s interest require preventing Russia from obtaining a reward for its invasion of a sovereign country.” He attacked his Russian counterpart, who “believed that we would back down,” adding that Putin “believed that tyrants like him were strong, and Americans were soft.”
Biden had returned to Warsaw after hours spent in Kiev, and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to European security during his meeting with his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, yesterday, as part of a series of preparatory consultations for a more complex phase of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “We must have security in Europe,” he said at the presidential palace in Warsaw, stressing that this is of great importance. He described NATO as “perhaps the most important in history,” saying that it is now “stronger than ever,” despite the Russian president’s wager on its division because of the war in Ukraine.