WASHINGTON, December 23. /TASS/. Russia is calling on Washington to use the little time that is left and extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) for the benefit of the two countries and the whole world, the Russian Embassy in the US said in a comment on the 10th anniversary of the document’s ratification by the US Senate.
According to the diplomatic mission, New START is the last bilateral agreement verifiably and transparently limiting world’s two largest nuclear arsenals. As of December 2020, Russian and US teams have carried out 328 on-site inspections, visiting each other’s missile, submarine, and bomber bases. The two sides have also exchanged over 21,000 notifications on the status of their strategic offensive arms.
"As things stay now, the Treaty is doomed to expire on February 5, 2021. President Vladimir Putin’s proposal from December 2019 to extend it for 5 years without preconditions still stands. The extension will give Russia and the US time to find common ground on the ways to adopt the arms control regime to today’s security environment," the Embassy stated.
"We call the US side to use what little time we have left till February 5 to save New START for the benefit of our two countries and the whole world," the comment said.
Moscow has repeatedly called on Washington to speed up the decision on whether to extend New START, describing this fundamental treaty as gold standard in arms control. US President Donald Trump’s administration earlier suggested expanding the treaty to include China. However, Beijing rejected this idea. US President-Elect Joe Biden openly supported extending New START when campaigning.