US, Russia should resume implementation of New START treaty: UN chief

United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the US and Russia to resume the full implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).

Asked about Guterres’ reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that his country will suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that the Secretary-General’s position is that the US and Russia should resume the full implementation of the treaty without delay, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The New START and successive bilateral treaties on strategic nuclear arms reduction between the two countries have provided security not only for Russia and the US, but (also) for the entire international community,” Dujarric added.

A world without nuclear arms control is a far more dangerous and unstable one with potentially catastrophic consequences. Every effort should be taken to avoid this outcome, including through an immediate return to dialogue, he told a daily press briefing.

Asked whether Guterres has plans to talk to Putin on the issue of the New START or the conflict in Ukraine, Dujarric said he had nothing to share with reporters at this point.