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Scrapping New START would make world more dangerous and less predictable - Putin

According to Russian President, the New START, which expires in 2021, now remains "almost the last tool for limiting the arms race, which is already serious"

DUBAI, October 13. /TASS/. The situation in the world would be more dangerous and less predictable in case the US refused to extend the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) in 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with RT Arabic, Al Arabiya and Sky News Arabia TV channels on Sunday ahead of his visit to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

"If it were scrapped, then the world would have nothing left in terms of limiting offensive arms. This is bad and this would be a different situation in the world, it would certainly become more dangerous and the world would become more dangerous and less predictable than the one in which we are living now," Putin stated.

According to Putin, the New START, which expires in 2021, now remains "almost the last tool for limiting the arms race, which is already serious."

"Moreover, to make sure it is extended, we need to be working on it right now. We have made these proposals, US administration has them on the table, but there hasn’t been any response. As we understand, they have not yet made up their mind whether this treaty should be extended or not," the Russian leader explained.

The New START Treaty, which was signed by Moscow and Washington in 2010, stipulates that seven years after it goes into effect, each party should have no more than a total of 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and strategic bombers, as well as no more than 1,550 warheads on deployed ICBMs, deployed SLBMs and strategic bombers, and a total of 800 deployed and non-deployed missile launchers.

The document is set to remain in effect until February 5, 2021, unless it is replaced with another agreement on nuclear arms reduction. It can also be extended for no more than five years (until 2026) with the consent of both parties.