WASHINGTON, February 11. /TASS/. The US administration is conducting negotiations with the Russian side on concluding an updated version of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), US Vice President JD Vance reported.
"This is an ongoing negotiation. Obviously, one of the hallmarks of [US President Donald Trump]'s foreign policy is that he hates nuclear proliferation. And I think for the American people, this is the worst thing that can happen, [that] is, more and more regimes across the world getting nuclear weapons. The START treaty is an important part of that. It's going to change compared to where it was, and that's part of the negotiation that we're engaging in with the Russians," he told journalists.
Vance expressed confidence that the US administration is "going to eventually get a good outcome for the American people that limits the spread of nuclear weapons."
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), the last international legal restriction on the deployment of nuclear weapons, expired on February 5 due to Washington’s reluctance to extend it. US President Donald Trump said earlier that he expected to make a "better" agreement that would include China.
Moscow suggested extending the treaty’s validity for another year after the document expired but received no official response from Washington to the initiative. As for China, Moscow believes that it’s up to Beijing to make a decision and will respect any choice China makes. However, Russia emphasized that if New START’s scope was expanded at some point, it should include nuclear powers such as the UK and France, US allies and NATO members, whose nuclear capabilities are not covered by any strategic stability agreement.