Upon arrival, Scholz condemned the Iranian strikes on Israel
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Tuesday that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START treaty — the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States — sharply upping the ante amid tensions with Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.
Speaking in his state-of-the-nation address, Putin also said that Russia should stand ready to resume nuclear weapons tests if the US does so, a move that would end a global ban on nuclear weapons tests in place since Cold War times.
Explaining his decision to suspend Russia’s obligations under New START, Putin accused the US and its Nato allies of openly declaring the goal of Russia’s defeat in Ukraine.
“They want to inflict a ‘strategic defeat’ on us and try to get to our nuclear facilities at the same time,” he said.
Putin argued that while the US has pushed for the resumption of inspections of Russian nuclear facilities under the treaty, Nato allies had helped Ukraine mount drone attacks on Russian air bases hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
“The drones used for it were equipped and modernized with Nato’s expert assistance,” Putin said. “And now they want to inspect our defence facilities? In the conditions of today’s confrontation, it sounds like sheer nonsense.”
Putin emphasised that Russia is suspending its involvement in New START and not entirely withdrawing from the pact yet.
The New START treaty, signed in 2010 by US president Barack Obama and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. The agreement envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.
Just days before the treaty was due to expire in February 2021, Russia and the United States agreed to extend it for another five years.
Russia and the US have suspended mutual inspections under New START since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, but Moscow last fall refused to allow their resumption, raising uncertainty about the pact’s future. Russia also indefinitely postponed a planned round of consultations under the treaty.
Upon arrival, Scholz condemned the Iranian strikes on Israel
Police have named the assailant as 40-year-old itinerant man Joel Cauchi
Family expresses condolences to the victims
The airline has already suspended flights to and from Tehran until April 18
All flights at Egyptian airports are according to the usual schedules, except for some flights heading to countries that have closed their airspace, said the govt
Air India and Vistara have announced avoidance of Iranian airspace and are taking longer flight paths for their Europe and US operations
Israel has a multi-layered air defence system that has intercepted thousands of rockets since it first went into operation in 2011
Police said there was no evidence to suggest Joel Cauchi was 'driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise'