MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Russia’s Defense Ministry is ready to enliven contacts between the Russian and US General Staffs to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START Treaty, ministry’s spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said on Tuesday.

"The Russian Defense Ministry is ready for practical implementation of the agreements in the sphere of international security reached by Russian and US Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, at their Monday’s summit in Helsinki," he said.

"The Russian Defense Ministry is ready to enliven contact with the US colleagues, between our General Staffs and via other communication channels, to discuss extension of the START Treaty, cooperation in Syria, and other topical issues of military security," he stressed.