Why in news? Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New START treaty

Highlights:

• It is the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the U.S.
• Russia accused the U.S. and its NATO allies of openly declaring the goal of its defeat in Ukraine.

About NEW START treaty

• It is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation with the formal name of Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.
• It replaced the Treaty of Moscow (SORT) , and It follows the START I treaty, which expired in December 2009, the proposed START II treaty, which never entered into force and the START III treaty for which negotiations were never concluded.

Overview of an treaty

• A new inspection and verification regime will be established, replacing the SORT mechanism.
• It does not limit the number of operationally inactive nuclear warheads that can be stockpiled, a number in the high thousands.
• The treaty also limits the number of deployed and non-deployed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers, submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers, and heavy bombers equipped for nuclear armaments to 800.
• The treaty allows for satellite and remote monitoring, as well as 18 on-site inspections per year to verify limits