Biden: Putin Suspension Of Nuke Arms Pact A "Big Mistake"

President Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “big mistake” by freezing his country’s participation in the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty.

Photo Insert: Biden’s comments came as he was wrapping up a whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine with talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine.

Biden was in Poland to reassure eastern flank NATO allies that the US will remain by their sides amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Aamer Madhani reported for the Associated Press (AP).

In his first comments since Putin’s announcement Tuesday, Biden condemned the Russian decision to pull back from the treaty, known as New START.

The move is expected to have an immediate impact on US visibility into Russian nuclear activities, but the pact was already on life support following Moscow’s cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that both sides have accused the other of violating.

However, Russia said Putin will stick to agreed limits on nuclear missiles and keep informing the US about changes in its deployments, a senior defense official said on Wednesday, despite the "suspension" of its last remaining arms control treaty with Washington, Mark Trevelyan, Jack Cordell and Lidia Kelly reported for Reuters.

Biden’s comments came as he was wrapping up a whirlwind, four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine with talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

As the war in Ukraine drags on, the Bucharest Nine countries’ anxieties have remained heightened. Many worry Putin could move to take military action against them next if he’s successful in Ukraine.

The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic