SOCHI, November 10./TASS/. The future of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is not clear, President Vladimir Putin told a session with leadership of the Defense Ministry, heads of federal agencies and enterprises of the defense industry sector on Tuesday.
"The fate of the last, in fact, fundamental treaty in the field of control of strategic offensive weapons, the New START Treaty, remains unclear. As you know, it expires in February 2021, which is pretty soon," Putin said.
The global arms control system has lapsed, Putin went on to say. "We can also see that the arms control system is being openly weakened and is deteriorating," Putin noted.
He reiterated that Washington was also planning to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies. ""I am not even talking about an earlier withdrawal from the ABM system (ABM Treaty - TASS)," Putin said.
The Russian leader emphasized that the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty was ensuring a necessary level of transparency of strategic nuclear weapons arsenals and was curbing their uncontrolled race. "That is why we proposed to extend it the way it was signed by the parties, at least in order to have time to work on it further," Putin said. The president stressed that Russia was strongly in favor of strengthening and updating mechanisms for ensuring strategic stability and arms control regimes.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) was signed by Russia and the United States in 2010. It will remain effective until February 5, 2021, unless a new document is signed to replace it. The document can be extended for no more than five years, that is, until 2026, by mutual agreement of the parties. Moscow has urged Washington not to postpone the decision on the extension of the arms control deal, characterizing it as the gold standard in the disarmament sphere.