WASHINGTON, November 17. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump should accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's new offer for a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) to avoid triggering a geopolitical crisis, The American Conservative magazine wrote.
As the publication noted, New START, the last remaining arms control treaty between Russia and the United States, expires on February 5 of next year. Without a new agreement, the two countries "may embark on an arms race that funnels hundreds of billions of dollars," the magazine says added that China "would likely join in rather than be left behind."
On September 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow, after the New START Treaty expires in February, is ready to continue with the quantitative restrictions for another year, if Washington does the same.
On October 22, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that the viability of the Russian initiative would be ensured only if reciprocated by the American side, which should not take steps that undermine the existing balance of deterrence capabilities. He said that Moscow must ensure the sustainability of Washington's rejection of the extremely hostile anti-Russian course of the previous United States administration.