With last nuclear treaty threatened, a neocon-driven nightmare advances

As Russia limits compliance with New START, a neoconservative effort to kill the nuclear treaty becomes closer to reality.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at his Feb. 21, 2023 address to Russia’s Federal Assembly. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)

In February 2017, veteran neoconservative John Bolton laid out his top priority for US-Russia relations.

“The next step in the bilateral relationship with Russia,” Bolton told the Conservative Political Action Conference, “is for this administration to abrogate the New START Treaty. That would be a signal to Vladimir Putin.”

Six years later, almost to the day, Bolton’s signal is closer than ever to reality.

In an annual address to the Russian parliament, Putin announced a reduction in compliance with New START, the last remaining treaty limiting the nuclear arsenals of the world’s two top nuclear powers.