United States: United States President Mr. Joe Biden has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend his country’s participation in the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty as a “big mistake.”

The comment came as the US president ended his wartime visit to Europe, working to enhance partnerships with allies on Nato’s perilous eastern flank even as Mr. Putin was approaching China for help as his invasion of Ukraine reaches one year.

Mr. Biden’s comments came as he met a key group of NATO allies in Poland. The group of eastern European states, known as the Bucharest Nine, reiterated their condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly a year after its start.

Speaking ahead of the meeting with leaders from the Bucharest Nine nations, Mr. Biden remarked that suspending New Start was a “big mistake” and reiterated the US commitment to the military alliance.

The treaty, signed in 2010, limits the number of US and Russian nuclear warheads and gives each the power to inspect the other’s weapons.

“You’re the frontlines of our collective defense. And you know better than anyone what’s at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world,” Mr. Biden commented.

Nato Secretary General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, pointed to past Russian conduct in Georgia and Ukraine and remarked that “we cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression.”

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