Biden criticized Putin’s “big mistake” in suspending the US-Russian nuclear arms control treaty and reiterated that NATO will protect every member

U.S. President Joe Biden meets leaders of NATO Eastern Wing nations in Warsaw. (February 22, 2023)

Washington — U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday (February 22) condemned Russia for suspending its implementation of the U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty, saying it was a “big mistake” made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Biden, who is visiting Poland, has promised NATO’s eastern allies that the United States will stand with them despite the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia is suspending its implementation of the “New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty” it signed with the United States in 2021. This is the first time Biden has reacted to the Russian decision.

U.S. President Joe Biden meets leaders of NATO Eastern Wing nations in Warsaw. (February 22, 2023)

The treaty will be valid for seven years, from 2021 to 2026. This is the only existing arms control treaty between the United States and Russia. The treaty sets strict regulations on the number of nuclear weapons deployed by both sides and the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles that have been deployed and establishes a mutual verification mechanism.

On the occasion of the first anniversary of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Biden paid what the media called a “whirlwind” visit to Ukraine and Poland. He met with Ukrainian President Zelensky, Polish President Duda, and leaders of the “Bucharest Nine”. All nine countries are members of former Eastern European countries and former Soviet republics. Announced in 2015, they also protect their own security by speaking out collectively against Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

The delay in the Russia-Ukraine war has deepened the nine countries’ concerns about their own security. They worry that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, any of their countries may become Putin’s next target. The nine countries are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

“You are the front line of our collective defense,” Biden said on Wednesday. .”

Biden plans to wrap up the trip, which has attracted global attention, on Wednesday. On Tuesday, he told the world at the Royal Castle in Warsaw that the United States’ commitment to allies and mutual defense agreements was “rock solid.”

“It’s a sacred oath, a sacred oath to defend every inch of NATO,” Biden said. “Every member of NATO knows it, and Russia knows it.”