Biden Doesn't 'Read' Putin Move As Eyeing Use Of Nuclear Weapons, Despite Kremlin Saber-Rattling

MOSCOW -- Tensions remained high on February 22 over Russia's decision to suspend its last nuclear arms treaty with the United States, although Russian and U.S. officials shared starkly differing interpretations going forward as lawmakers in Moscow finalized their interruption of the 2010 New START treaty.

Both houses of Russia's legislature backed President Vladimir Putin's proposal to suspend participation in New START one day after the Kremlin leader announced the move in a major speech to the nation.

Later, Putin vowed to give special attention to strengthening his country's nuclear preparations, a continuation of the kind of nuclear saber-rattling that the Kremlin leader and other senior Russian officials have done since they launched their full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine a year ago this week.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he saw no change in Russia's nuclear posture and didn't read into Putin's declarations any intention to use nuclear weapons.

"It's a big mistake to do that. Not very responsible," Biden told ABC News in an interview published after his departure on February 22 from a four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland to gird Western solidarity. "But I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that.

Putin was expected to sign the suspension of the New START treaty within hours of the unanimous approval in the lower chamber, the State Duma, and similar backing in the upper house, the Federation Council.

Russia's Foreign Ministry signaled its intention to stay under upper limits on nuclear deployments and other aspects of the treaty until its scheduled expiration in early 2026 despite the suspension.

Russian news agencies quoted Russian General Yevgeny Ilyin as repeating to lawmakers that Russia would keep under agreed restrictions on nuclear delivery systems contained in New START, according to Reuters. He also said Moscow would notify Washington of nuclear deployments "to prevent false alarms."

The agency also quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying, "I do not believe that the decision to suspend the New START Treaty brings us closer to nuclear war."

But the inspections regime that underpins New START has been interrupted for at least a year amid high tensions over Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow has called the suspension "reversible" but insisted Washington "must show political will" in that direction.

In Warsaw for a meeting of the leaders of nine NATO eastern flank states following a surprise visit earlier in the week to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, U.S. President Joe Biden called Russia's suspension of the New START adherence a "big mistake."

The treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms accord between the two superpowers, restricts each nation to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Each side has blamed the other for the breakdown of the pact, which has further raised concerns over global security during Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Putin announced the move in his state-of-the-nation address to the parliament.

The outcome of the parliamentary vote was never in doubt with State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin saying just before voting began that ballots against the move "are not even expected."

Several Russian lawmakers echoed Putin's rhetoric blaming Washington for breaking the treaty, with former President Dmitry Medvedev, currently the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, saying the move was "long overdue" as the United States and NATO have "declared war" on Russia.

Speaking the same day as Putin's address, Biden gave a strong and emotional response in the Polish capital, Warsaw, vowing to continue supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion, which was launched on February 24 last year.

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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he regretted Putin's decision and expressed hopes that Moscow will reconsider it, adding that with the move "the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled."

The New START treaty was signed in 2010. In February 2021, just days before the New START was due to expire, Moscow and Washington agreed to extend it for another five years.

But in August last year, Russia informed the United States of a freeze on U.S. inspections of its nuclear weapons under the treaty, claiming Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine along with visa restrictions had hampered similar inspections of U.S. facilities by Russian monitors.

New talks between Moscow and Washington on the treaty were scheduled for last November but Russia unilaterally called them off at the last moment.